Sandbrook
by RegalGirl94
Summary: All those in Broadchurch are trying to find peace again after the tragic murder of Danny Latimer, including Bonnie and Alec. An important step to that is Joe Miller finally seeing justice. But when they're all dragged into a trial, and the Sandbrook case gets a new wind, Bonnie has new demons to battle. While the new couple strive for a new horizon, something will always impede.
1. Chapter 1: Seven Months

**Here is the next installation of Broachurch! Takes place right where series two takes off. Let me know what you guys think!**

* * *

SANDBROOK

CHAPTER ONE

SEVEN MONTHS

She rarely heard the waves of the ocean so clearly when she woke up in her little flat above her little bookstore. Bonnie Irving stretched with a lazy smile in bed. As usual, Alec apparently woke up before her. He was probably dressed already too.

Seven long months had passed since Joe Miller's arrest. And today was the day he was going to plead and be sentenced. Bonnie felt like a human sized bubble waiting to pop. She quickly got up and jumped in the shower, dressing in a purple maxi dress and her father's wool knit sweater over it. She let her sometimes frizzy curls towel dry and dry in the sea air as she wandered through Alec's small new house by the water to see the man himself sitting on the cement steps outside, reading his mail.

She walked up behind him and bent over to hug his shoulders and kiss his cheek, "Good morning my grouchy man."

She beamed when she heard and felt him chuckle, "Good morning." He put away what he was reading and stood, kissing her as he got to his feet. "Did you sleep all right?"

"I'm getting used to the sound of the water out here," she grinned. She was ecstatic when he ultimately decided to stay in town. He even got a small house down the docks, and she spent nearly more than half of her time there. And when she wasn't there, he was with her. Unless he had a late night. She felt some sort of domestic bliss in their life. But Joe Miller was still a shadow.

She was force feeding him toast and pills when his cell rang. "What?... No... What? Is that now?"

She smirked as he walked to his window-door to see Maggie and Olly standing there smugly. Olly had been the one to call him and remind him about the interview they had this morning. "Certainly is."

Alec groaned as he hung up his phone and let Bonnie help him into his coat, "Remind me why I agreed to this again."

"Because they did right by you last time," she reminded him. "And they're our people. And after this, that'll be the end of it." She patted his coat pocket, to remind him that she put more pills there for him. "I'll meet you there, okay? I have to pop 'round the shop and see to Denise."

"Right, she's on her way out," he remembered.

"She's moving," she corrected with a giggle. "And I have to find a new general manager."

"Good luck finding someone as bloody perky as you," he joked, kissing her cheek before he followed Maggie and Olly out.

* * *

"DI Hardy, you must be anticipating the relief today's court date'll bring."

"It's the plea and case management hearing," Hardy answered simply, squinting as the wind blew some sand in his face as they stood under the cliffs on the beach.

"But you're pleased you got the right man in the dock?" Olly asked.

"What sort of a question is that? Pleased? Is that how you train him?" Hardy regarded Maggie, to which she simply grinned.

They were cut off by his phone ringing, and he was content to ignore it. But Maggie said, "Take it if you want."

He hit ignore on it and tried to carry on with the interview to get it over with. "Right-" but his phone rang again. Maggie and Olly looked at him and his phone, perturbed. But he ignored it again. "Today's hearing is the result of a thorough investigation by a team of dedicated officers who worked day and night under difficult circumstances."

"And how will you personally feel seeing Joe Miller again?" Maggie asked.

He shook his head, "No. Don't do that. It's not about me."

"He's the husband of your old detective sergeant," she pointed out. "You must want the same as us, Joe Miller sentenced for what he did. As soon as that happens, we can all move on."

"You know I can't comment in advance of today," he told her.

"Are you missing being on active duty as a detective?" Olly asked him.

Alec glared at the boy, "You can probably stop taking the arsehole pills, Oliver."

"I thought you might leave," Olly said. "Now that you don't have any reason to be here."

There was a tense silence, that Maggie was forced to interrupt as casually as she could, "Oh, I wouldn't call our Bonnie nothing. All right... picture. If you just stand there."

"Here? Really?" He looked at them and the cliffs.

"Yeah. That cliff fall's recent. They're getting more frequent," she mentioned.

He spoke under his breath, "Things fall apart."

"It'd help if you look up," Maggie goaded.

"Smile!" Olly grinned.

As she took the photos, his phone rang again. He felt irritation building in him as he looked at the phone again; 'CLAIRE.' Why was she calling? Why was she bothering him today? He hit ignore again and looked at the text messages telling him to pick up. But today was too important to get derailed by her.

"Okay. Perfect," Maggie said, putting her things away.

"How's Tom getting on?" Hardy asked Olly as he prepared to leave.

Olly frowned, somber, "Me and Mum are trying to get him through it, but he still doesn't want to be with Ellie..."

"Have you seen her?" he asked.

Olly shook his head. "You?"

Hardy shook his head as well. He had to go. And maybe he'd see her today.

* * *

Bonnie felt weighed down as she waited outside the courthouse. She didn't want to come today. She didn't want to see him, remember how he'd killed Danny, how it felt on her own throat and chest to be strangled to death. It was awful. But she'd come for this one-day process, to hear him admit what he'd done and get sentenced. She'd be there to support Alec, and the Latimers.

She stood when she noticed the family approaching, dodging the cameras in their faces. Just behind them, Alec was walking up. She got to his side and took his hand as his phone was ringing. "Hey, are you ready for this?"

He huffed, "Too bloody right."

His phone rang again, and Bonnie had to ask, "Why are you so popular today?"

He snorted, "I'm never popular, love. Worst cop in Britain, remember?"

"And yet I'm still in love with you," she teased.

He gave her a smirk, "Shame on you."

She tugged on his hand, "Let's go in."

He squeezed her hand as they approached security. "I wish we could sit in the same section."

"I know," she sighed, giving her purse over to be searched. "But I'll sit on the edge of the civilian section and be right in line of sight. After it's all said and done, we can go back to yours or mine and make love."

Whenever she put it out like that just so casually, he always froze or tripped over something. He wasn't used to her brazenness quite yet. And she always giggled at his expense. Right now, was not very different. But they didn't let the amusement linger. Today was serious.

When they met up with the Latimers just by the stairs, Bonnie embraced Beth as tightly as she could around her pregnant belly.

"You didn't have to be here today," Alec told them.

"Oh, we did," Beth said. "I need to hear him say it."

 _'All parties in Miller to court one. All parties in Miller to court one.'_

The group of them quickly walked up the stairs and into the court. Bonnie gave Beth and Chloe a squeeze and Alec a peck on the cheek before she took a seat right at the front corner of the civilian section right inside the doors. Like marching to the gallows, Alec took his seat in his section.

She blanched when she saw Paul walk in with Becca. She didn't think Becca would be disrespectful enough to show up, given her affair with Mark Latimer, Danny's father. Especially given that they'd been having said affair while Danny was being killed. Bonnie kept her eyes straight forward, not sparing them much of a glance. She wanted this to be easy and over.

She started when Ellie rushed in, all flustered. Hardy quickly called her over to the empty seat next to him and she sat down, averting her eyes from everyone staring at her. She needed this quickly done with as well as anyone else.

Bonnie thought that was the end of it, that everyone was in and court would commence soon. But the doors flew open and she heard one of the bailiffs' usher whoever it was away from Hardy's section and towards her. He turned back to see a woman with black hair and light eyes, excited looking, and eyes on Alec. She frowned when it seemed Alec wasn't happy to see her and quickly got up to cart her out of the courtroom, "Out, now, come on."

Alec couldn't believe she had the gall to show up here as he forced her out into the hall, "What are you doing here? You know how important today is."

"Sorry, I was worried you turned your phone off," she justified.

"You cannot be here-" he tried to tell her.

But she kept talking over him, "Sorry, I'm panicking, I didn't know what to do."

"Go," he pointed to the stairs.

"I think he's back and I think he's looking for me," she cut him off.

He paused, "What?" What she was saying, couldn't be true. "No, he's not. He can't be. I'd know. Why do you think that?"

She spoke hushed up, "Nine missed calls on my phone. Number withheld."

"That doesn't mean-"

"It's him," she hissed.

"It's not," he insisted. "You need to calm down. I know where he is. I've had a trace on him. He's not even in the country."

She stared at him, "You'd better be sure, Alec, cos I feel like I can't breathe-"

"Everything is fine. Stay calm," he tried to comfort her with a hand on her shoulder. "Stop worrying. Soon as I'm done here, I'll come over. Now, go home. Please. It's all fine." As he walked back into the courtroom, he told her, "Maybe use the back exit."

As he walked back in, he felt like he was taking a walk of shame. He averted his eyes from Bonnie's searching face and ignored Ellie asking who Claire was just as the judge spoke up.

"All rise. All parties in the case of Joseph Miller."

Bonnie let the official statements around just wash over. She was only waiting for it all to be done and over with.

"Are you Joseph Michael Miller?"

"Yes."

"Joseph Michael Miller, you are charged with murder contrary to common law. The particulars of the offense are that on the 18th day of July 2013, you murdered Daniel Latimer of 4 Spring Close, Broadchurch, Dorset. How do you plead? Guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty."

Bonnie looked over at him in horrified shock at his words. He was supposed to plead guilty. He had already confessed. She could vaguely hear Beth gasping, "No. He can't."

Joe's solicitor stood, looking as stunned as everyone else, "Err... Your Honour... Sorry. Erm... Can I just ask for the indictment to be put again?"

Mark suddenly banged out of his chair, smacking the wood, and shouting, "Be a man, Joe! You know what happened!"

"Sit down," the judge ordered. "I said sit down." Nige had to get involved and get Mark back into his seat. The judge looked at the solicitor, "I take it from your reaction, Ms. Thompson, that Queen's Counsel have not been instructed."

Even Joe's representation looked flabbergasted at his plea. "Very much not, Your Honour."

"Could you confirm your plea, Mr. Miller? Not least, it seems for the benefit of your own counsel."

"Not guilty."

Bonnie felt like she was going to be sick. She trailed Alec the moment they were dismissed from the room. Ellie had already stormed off into the ladies' room. "He can't do this. They can't go through a whole damn trial."

"I know," he snapped. He paused when he realized he was taking it out on her and turned to her, "Sorry."

She nodded, understanding, "I know. I just—can't believe he would do this. But I guess nothing is worse than what he's already done."

He took a minute to think about his next moves before he spoke again. "Listen, I'm going to check on Miller. And then I need to go deal with something."

"That woman?" Bonnie asked, remembering the way he'd dragged her out and how long he'd been out before returning to his seat.

He didn't want to lie to her. With a big sigh, he nodded, "Yeah."

"Who is she?"

He swallowed, "It's nothing."

"A woman I've never heard of or seen before marches into court _today_ and you're clearly not happy to see her," she pointed out, trying not to sound like the insecure jealous girlfriend, "and now you're going to see her after Joe just plead _not guilty._ Tell me it's not what it looks like. Tell me it isn't what any other woman would assume it is."

"It's not," he said without pause after she spoke. "It's not anything like that. That, I can promise you."

She looked into his eyes and saw what she always saw in them. How deeply he really cared but couldn't show most of the time. How he was asking her to believe in him. "All right. I trust you."

He briefly cupped her cheek, "Thank you, love." With a kiss on her head, he departed with a, "See you at home."

Bonnie couldn't help but smile when he said 'home.'

* * *

Hardy couldn't hide the contempt on his face as he approached the small house in the middle of nowhere. Claire greeted him outside like a waiting wife. But he had no time for pleasantries as they made their way into her kitchen.

"You shouldn't have come earlier."

"I know. It was stupid," she admitted.

"Yeah, it bloody was," he admonished her. Dealing with people was like dealing with children for him half the time. "Don't do that sort of thing. People don't know you're here, for good reason."

She blanched, "I said I was sorry. It's just I was spooked by those calls and I... I needed you."

He walked over to lean against the sink next to her, "We need to stick to what we agreed."

She looked up at him, quietly desperate, "Promise me I'm safe, Alec."

"I've told you. Everything's okay," he promised.

"So, you're staying?" she asked him insecurely.

He looked away from her, "No, I've got things I need to do."

"I don't like being here by myself," she told him.

"Stop worrying."

"You don't know what he's capable of," she insisted.

"I do. I've got it covered," he told her. It was so much he could do to assure her before he was free to leave.

* * *

Bonnie felt like she could chew her fingers off out of nerves. She couldn't concentrate at work. And she had three interviews, two on Skype. And she'd run into a dilemma. She'd found the perfect person to replace Denise. They wanted to work full time hours, practically run the place for her. But they also wanted a convenient place to live with decent rent. They offered to take the flat off her hands.

For a while, the closer they got, Bonnie thought about the prospect of living with Alec. He had never said anything. And she didn't expect him to. She knew that moving along in their relationship would be up to her. She loved him. She wanted to be with him. She thought that somehow, they worked. And living together could work too.

So, perhaps, she could bring it up with him tonight. His mind may be a mine field, but there would never be a good time if they were at trial. Before dark, she was done with the interviews for that day and hopping on her brand-new bike to Alec's. Seeing the sky-blue vintage style bike, she loved, reminded her fondly of her grouchy Scottish man. Because it had been a gift from him to her. He admitted that Denise helped him find the right one. But he wanted her to have a better way of getting around than walking or spending money on cabs back and forth between his place and hers. She needed to speak with him.

Only when she got there, she noticed harsh cracks in the glass of his ajar front door. She pulled out the taser Alec had gotten her a few months back and carefully stepped inside. She was shocked at what she'd seen. The whole place had been tossed over!

Breathing a little heavier in fear, she pulled out her phone and dialed Alec quickly.

"Hi, Bonnie, listen, I'm on my way back-"

"Well, you need to hurry."

He immediately sensed the worry in her tone, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm at your place and it's been ransacked, Alec," she told him quickly, hearing a crunch of glass under her shoe and looking down to see a broken frame with a photo of her and Alec inside. He looked as grumpy as ever, but she was smiling enough for both of them. "No one's here anymore, I've checked. But someone was definitely looking for something, it doesn't look like any simple robbery."

He adopted his cop voice – as she dubbed it – and said, "Okay, I am coming now. I want you to wait outside for me. Don't call the police unless someone other than me shows up."

"Okay, please hurry," she said, stepping out of the house a sitting anxiously on the steps.

"Will do. Love you."

He hung up before she could answer. She waited, worried and wired, before he finally rushed down the walk to the house, instantly gathering her up in his arms. "Are you all right? You said no one was here, right? When you got here?"

"Yeah," she assured him. "I just saw what they've done in there."

He rushed into the house, taking in the damage. She watched him unlock the top drawer in his desk and check whatever it was he kept in there. He seemed angry, yet relieved. When she took a seat on the couch, he sat next to her and put an arm around her.

"What's going on, Alec?"

He didn't answer right away.

She got irritated, "You need to tell me the truth, Alec." She twisted out of his arm to face him, "Because I could have been here. If I decided not to go into work today, like I almost did, I could have been here when whomever came looking for you or whatever they were looking for. And it's not a coincidence that this happened the day that woman popped up at court today."

He sighed. He knew she was right. He just didn't want to own up to what could be a mistake. To what she would almost certainly tell him was a mistake. "It's my last case. Sandbrook."

"I understand that the case is still open ended, but what part does this woman have in it?" Bonnie questioned, trying to keep her tone even and reign in her reaction until he finished.

"She testified against our man, Lee Ashworth," he told her. "Her husband."

"Bloody amazing," she couldn't help but comment.

"When the case fell apart, she feared for her safety, begged me to protect her. Put her in witness protection," he explained.

"That's not possible without a conviction," she guessed.

He nodded, looking unbelievably tired at the end of this shit day. "The reason... I came to Broadchurch, was so I could hide her out here."

Bonnie scooted away from him an inch, "You mean to say she's been living here for the last seven months and you haven't said anything? Forget official police business, why have you never told _me_?"

"I didn't want to get you involved," he justified. "It's my investigation, it's Sandbrook."

"I understand that you can't tell me official police secrets," she said. "But this isn't your official investigation and you're not a DI anymore. You can't keep me in the dark about these huge things. And what does this-" she gestured to the messed-up house, "have to do with that?"

"I was under the impression that Lee was still in France, and that Claire was safe," he said. "I was told while on my way here that he returned to the country three days ago."

"So, this was him?" she asked, fearful of the fact that she could have been caught out at his place while a free murderer came and intruded.

"I'm almost certain," he answered gravely.

She let out a breath. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Alec leaned closer to her and took her hands in his, hoping to keep her calm and make her see that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. "Listen to me. Look at me." When she looked him in the eyes, he continued, "I will not let anything happen to you."

She furrowed her brow, "Do you think I'm only worried about me?" She huffed, "Alec, what if you had been here? Forget him attacking you, just seeing him could've put enough stress on your heart to kill you. I've told you – that I can't lose you. Whether it's to heart failure, or you burying yourself into this case and forgetting that you have a life outside of the job now."

He stared at her. He was always floored when she so bluntly made it clear that he had a woman like her in his life now. That she wanted some kind of life and future with him of all people. He was a grouchy former detective inspector in his mid-40s, divorced, with a daughter already. She was over a decade his junior, without the baggage of a failed marriage, always understanding and – the only person in the world he believed could communicate with people who had passed on. He never thought that this would be his life, and of all places, in Broadchurch.

"Alec."

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry I've got you caught up in this."

She softened when she saw the vulnerability on his hard face. "Don't be sorry. Just be honest. Just be careful."

"I have to close this case," he told her, holding back on making promises he couldn't keep. It was his nature. No matter what, he'd always be police.

She squeezed his hands, "I know you do. I know you need the closure as much as the family does. Just think about us while you're out there. I don't want to relive Ellie calling me into the hospital because you collapsed chasing a suspect again."

"That won't happen again," he said. He leaned back against the couch, "I got a letter from my medical provider about the operation..."

"The pacemaker?" she asked. After he nodded, she asked slowly, "Are you thinking about doing it?"

He sighed. "I know it's a big risk but-"

"It's a big risk not to do it too," she finished for him. "I'm going to be scared of losing you whether you go through with the procedure or not. But I am going to support whichever decision you make."

"You're not going to lose me," he promised, against his better judgment, cupping her face and pulling it in so he could kiss her.

She always lost her breath when he pulled her in like that. And she always immediately reciprocated. Hitching up the skirt of her dress, she swung her leg over his lap and sat right down, still kissing him. Hands started roaming, she took off his tie, he pulled off her sweater. As she started undoing his shirt and hastily pushing his jacket off of his shoulders, he tried to talk against her lips, "Perhaps we should move into the bedroom – for privacy."

She smirked as she got his jacket off, "No one's coming around here. If they do, let them enjoy the show."

He groaned deep in his throat as she got his shirt undone, reaching up to caress her breasts. She got his pants undone enough to get access to what they needed. When he felt under her dress, up her thigh, he was surprised and completely aroused to feel that she had no undergarments on at all. "Bloody tease."

She giggled and gasped as they stroked each other. And soon, she was slipping onto him and riding him for dear life on top of his living room couch. Sometimes, they'd stare into each other's eyes the whole time. Sometimes, they were so overcome, they couldn't open their eyes. And sometimes, they couldn't pry their lips apart. Like right now. Alec pulled her as close as he possibly could as she moved on top of him.

She gasped loudly when her peak hit her. The way her heart was beating, she would be worried he would have a heart attack if his was beating as quickly. But so far, he had been able to handle her. As her pleasure washed over her, she moved faster, hearing the way his breathing piqued. She was half-surprised when he reached his hand between them and pressed down on the 'button' just as he thrust up with extra force. An explosion of pleasure washed over her again as he reached his climax.

Coming off of the rush, she laid her head in his shoulder, kissing the skin there, with a smile on her face. She felt him smirking against her temple, "Who knew an old man like me could be adventurous."

She laughed breathlessly, "If you'd like to get adventurous, I have some ideas."

His unguarded laugh was music to her ears.

* * *

The next morning, Bonnie was surprised to roll over in Alec's bed and see him still asleep next to her. She smiled, leaning over him on her elbows to kiss his face until he woke up.

In his deep Scottish brogue, he said, "Good morning. I think I like waking up like this."

"Then you need to start sleeping in more," she teased him. "What's your next move?"

He let out a huff – it was too early. "Get good help. Even I know that I can't do this alone."

"Guess you're not so stupid after all," she joked, kissing him. "Get official help. I'll help too where I'm able."

"You have your own work," he said. "Have you found a replacement for Denise?"

She ran her fingers through her hair, "I still have a few interviews to get through in the next couple days. But I think I met the right candidate yesterday. Young woman, single, just finished her degree. Wants something full time. Planning on getting her masters online while working and living in Broadchurch. Only thing is, she's expressed interest in taking up the lease of the apartment upstairs too. And I have thought of taking that kind of step back from the shop."

"Why?" he asked curiously, running his fingertips up and down her spine. "What would you do?"

"I'd still own the place and run the tutoring center," she said. "But if I take a step back from the orders and inventory and all that, I could have time to..."

"To what?" he asked when she trailed off.

She blushed, "So, maybe I could study for the exam to become a substitute teacher."

"Why do you sound embarrassed?" he asked her.

She laid her head down on his chest, "It's just... I still feel like I let myself down by coming to Broadchurch when I did. I never finished getting my teachers credentials and I always wanted to be a teacher. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love having the bookstore and running the tutoring center. But it was sort of the closest thing I could get to the thing I really wanted."

"Have you thought about finishing the credentials?" he asked, brushing through her hair with his fingers. "It's not too late."

"I can't see myself being a student again," she said into his shoulder. "It's been nearly nine years since I left that time in my life. But maybe as a sub, I could get closer."

"Whatever you want to do." Soon enough, the conversation teetered off as they prepared for the day, right down to a shared shower.

"Tell Ellie hello from me, yeah?" she asked him with a knowing smirk as they readied to leave.

He gave her a look, "I thought I was the detective?"

"Maybe I just know you?" she poised, slipping on her sweater.

He hummed in agreement, picking up his house keys. "What do you think of moving in here?"

Bonnie had been pouring white tea into a to-go mug for him, and nearly spilled half of it on the counter in shock at his question. "What?"

He hid his smirk, not really looking at her, instead at the paper. "You said you might give up the flat to whoever the new manager will be. Either that or getting a roommate. This way, you can collect more rent from her if she takes the whole place, not half."

"So, that question came from practical reasons?" She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

He looked over at her now, walking closer and accepting the mug of tea. "Partially. You practically live here anyway. I'd rather make it official."

"That's better," she leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "I'll start packing."

* * *

Ellie was confused and irritated to walk out of her therapist's office to see Hardy waiting by her car. Even more irritated when he talked her into getting into the car and driving out to the middle of nowhere.

"This needs to stay between us. You need to promise me."

"How long's this gonna take?" she demanded as she drove.

"Promise me," he insisted.

"Am I going to be annoyed by this?"

"Next left." His lack of straight answers was beginning to already annoy her.

When she pulled up to a little house, the women she'd seen in court walked out, "What's going on? Who's this?"

"Miller, Claire," Hardy introduced them shortly.

"Ellie. Hi," she waved.

Claire glared at Hardy, "Why are you bringing someone here?"

"She'll help," he said.

"No-one's supposed to know," she emphasized.

"You're worried. She'll look after you," he promised.

Both women looked at him in surprise, "What?"

"Let's not do this out here. Inside," he ordered, already walking in.

Hardy hadn't gotten around to explanations yet as they settled into the house and exchanged pleasantries, watching little Freddie play with his toys. Claire smiled at the little boy, "He's gorgeous! He's quite sleepy. What is he? Two?"

"Nearly. You got kids?" Ellie asked. Claire got suddenly quiet, averting her eyes to Hardy. Ellie frowned, "Oh. Sorry." Looking to her ex-boss, "Is she your wife?"

Claire snorted, "Him? Please!"

"Not my wife," Hardy said. "Or ex-wife."

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Ellie finally demanded.

Claire and Hardy shared a look, him assuring her, "I trust her. She can help."

She considered his sentiment, and nodded her permission, "Go on, then. Tell her. You obviously want to."

Hardy looked at Ellie, "It's sort of witness protection."

"What?" Ellie was already lost. "How can you be running witness protection?"

"I said, sort of, not officially. But she is under my care," he elaborated.

"What do you mean 'not officially'? You've been hiding her here?" Ellie asked.

"No-one knows, and no-one can know," he insisted.

She stared at him like he's lost his mind, "Are you out of your head? Oh, tell me you haven't done this. A witness to what, that you have to be holed up here?"

Claire looked at hardy, "Tell her."

With a great big sigh, he launched into his story, "My last case before I came to Broadchurch. Sandbrook. There were two girls, cousins. Lisa Newbery, 19, was babysitting for her 12-year-old cousin Pippa. Pippa's parents went away for the night to a friend's wedding. When they came back the next day, both girls were gone. The 12-year-old, Pippa, her body was found three days later. The 19-year-old, Lisa... Officially she's still missing. Our main suspect was a man called Lee Ashworth, but he had a solid alibi."

"Which was what?" the former DS asked.

"Me," Claire admitted with shame. "I said I was with Lee all night."

Ellie looked over at her, "Was that true?"

She crossed her arms in front of her, "No. No, I was at a friend's house, but Alec worked out that I was lying, and he promised, if I told the truth, Lee would be convicted. It was a big risk for me."

"Why?" Ellie didn't understand.

Claire sighed, "Lee's my husband."

Ellie's mouth dropped, "Oh, God!" Was she supposed to feel sympathetic for this woman since their husbands were both murderers?

"Yeah," Claire launched into justifications and explanations. "The trial collapsed, and Lee walked a free man and I asked Alec if he would protect me."

Ellie scoffed, "So, that's what this place is all about." She looked at Hardy, not pacified, "You can't just keep her here. There are official channels, procedure."

"Not if you've accused a person who's walked free," Claire insisted, hotly. "There's no witness protection, there's nothing. I'd be abandoned if it wasn't for Alec."

Ellie looked at the other woman, "How long have you been here?"

Claire thought on it, "Seven months or so?"

Ellie frowned, "No. If you've been here seven months..." looking at Hardy.

He averted from her gaze, "When I came to Broadchurch. That's _why_ I came to Broadchurch. I took the job, so I could keep Claire safe here."

She glared at him and yelled, "You wanker!" storming out of the room for the room Fred was resting in.

Hardy walked after her, "No, Miller, don't!" He followed her into the room and shut the door. "That went well."

"Fred, darling, we're going," she told her boy, ignoring Hardy.

"Miller stop!"

She jabbed a finger at him, "You took the job earmarked for me because of her."

"Get over the bloody job!" he shouted.

"Do you not see how stupid you're being? What are you thinking?" she asked him.

"I've got a plan," he insisted, desperate for her to see his side.

She scoffed at him, "Yeah, well, it's shit! Does Bonnie know about any of this?"

He sighed, "I told her everything yesterday." He lowered his voice, "I can solve Sandbrook. Claire's the key."

"What if Lee Ashworth comes looking for her?" she poised for him.

"I want him to," he revealed.

"That's your plan?" she asked him incredulously.

"Just stay a bit longer, get to know Claire. Have dinner, have some drinks, you can all stay the night," he pleaded with her.

"Oh, have a sleepover!" she mocked the absurdity.

"She needs someone like you and you're not overloaded for friends," he pointed out.

"Thanks a lot!"

"There's even room here for..." he gestured towards the baby boy, blanking on his name.

"Fred!" she barked.

"Fred," he repeated, stepping in her path as she tried to leave. "Please, Miller. Please, listen, I need to know I got Sandbrook right in the end. I can't do it on my own."

* * *

"Hello love."

Bonnie couldn't stop the disappointed look on her face as she answered Alec's call in between interviews for Denise's replacement. "You're going to be late tonight, aren't you?"

"I'll be staying here – with Ellie," he explained quickly. "I got her to agree to help me protect Claire while I investigate Sandbrook."

She held in her tone. "All right. Well, I was probably going to stay in tonight and start packing anyway. But don't think this gets you out of helping me _un_ pack, mister."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He sounded relieved that she wasn't reading him the riot act. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said before they said goodnight and hung up.

Alec was set up on the couch in Claire's little home, having already said his goodnights to them. Besides the couch being uncomfortable, he felt cold without Bonnie next to him. He always felt like he was ripping up old wounds to open up with her, move forward with her, and let her in more. But he felt he loved her enough and owed her enough for gauging out all her old wounds to tell him all that she already had about herself. He couldn't make the same mistakes with her that he'd made with Tess. He had a second chance at some sort of happiness. He wouldn't risk losing it for anything.

* * *

 **What do you think of Bonnie and Alec's relationship?**

 **Also, just to forewarn people, I haven't gotten even close to finishing the writing up of series three of this show. I will be covering some of what happens in the three months between series two and three so it'll take longer and I won't have that posted as quickly as I've been able to post for these fanfictions so far.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	2. Chapter 2: You Owe Me

CHAPTER TWO

YOU OWE ME

The next morning, Bonnie felt as if she hadn't slept at all. She was up for most of the night packing away most of her bedroom. She felt a sense of moving forward while she put clothes and books in boxes. She wanted a life with him.

She quickly got dressed for work and opened up the store as Denise arrived for her shift. The women idly discussed Denise's timeline for moving – since it was for her husband's new job – and her possible replacements that could fill the job on time. About an hour into the work day, a local delivery man popped into the door, "Morning ladies."

"Morning Todd," Bonnie greeted him, noticing the package under his arm. "That for me? I didn't order anything."

He shrugged, "S'got your name on it. All I know. Sign?"

"Of course," she said, signing his touch-pad and accepting the package.

"Secret admirers usually send flowers," Denise commented.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Just in case it's some lingerie I forgot I ordered, I'll take this upstairs real quick."

Denise snorted and waved her off.

Bonnie quickly jaunted into her apartment and grabbed scissors to open the package. On top of a small rectangular object wrapped in paper – it looked like a book – was a note in her Aunt's handwriting.

 _I know things have always been difficult between you and Marge. But mothers and daughters have a bond that should never be sacrificed or torn apart by personal differences. She loves you._

Bonnie already felt irritated. Jay's wife, Uma, had always stuck her nose in it. She believed that family was everything and required fidelity no matter what. And because neither Jay nor Bonnie herself could ever tell her the root of her issues with her mother – i.e. their shared abilities and her mother's manipulations – Uma often saw Bonnie as the ungrateful daughter who abandoned her mother. It led to some strain between Uma and Jay, but they survived.

She picked up the paper wrapped object and discarded the note, ripping the paper off of it. She blanched when they saw it was a book.

 _Fifteen Years Later, Still Missing Her; The Marjorie MacQueens Story._

It seemed her mother had abandoned her idea for a sequel to her memoir about the Lila Davidson case – though the case was mentioned as central to the new book – and instead made it a saga about distant mother and daughter, a tale of mother's woes.

She felt disgusted. She felt angry. She felt disrespected. She opened the cover on accident while turning it around to read the back summary and noticed another note had fallen out. This time, she vaguely recognized her mother's handwriting.

 _I want to talk to you. I want my daughter, my little Marjorie. You owe me._

She scoffed, tossing both of the notes away. But she couldn't throw the book away. Not yet.

* * *

Teaching may have been Bonnie's dream, but it was Hardy's purgatory. He couldn't muster up the anxiety and chase that came with his former position and push it into his energy at this new job. He barely had enough pupils to fill one row in the amphitheater classroom and the dribble he was pouring over them sounded like tapes people used to help them sleep.

"At fixed intervals during the probationary period you'll have a review. Conducted by the Learning Development Officer." Even his Chief's watchful eye as she stalked down the steps and observed his teaching couldn't encourage him to muster up more enthusiasm. "This will establish whether or not you have met the required standards to be an efficient and effective police officer."

After he'd finally been able to conclude and dismiss his pupils, she followed him out of the building berating him, "Why the hell did you say yes to this job if you don't enjoy it?"

"Not that bad, am I?" he asked.

"You'll demotivate our entire intake. The boredom drips off you," she admonished him.

"I was good at my job," he griped at her. He wanted DI back. He wanted to close cases, not set up a generation of young idiots to do it and screw it up.

"Yeah, and you're no longer fit for it. So, get good at this one or do something else," she said with a final tone.

He was nearly back to his house when his phone rang, "Hi."

Claire's panicked voice startled him, "Alec, Lee just called and left me a message. How did he get my number?"

He remained calm, like he had to. He had never told her that his guy watching Lee informed him that he'd been back from France for four days now. "Okay. What did he say?"

"He said he's close," she emphasized, almost shaking.

Feeling eyes on him, Alec turned his head to see none other than Lee Ashworth standing a handful of yards away from him. "Claire, I promise you're safe. Just stay there. I've gotta go."

"Alec, please don't go!" she tried to beg but he already hung up on her.

Walking slowly up to meet with Lee, he demanded, "What do you want?"

"Where's Claire?" Lee requested in an even tone.

Alec feigned nonchalance, "Why would I know?"

Lee glared at the other man, but still kept his tone even, "Don't mess me about. I wanna see her."

"Lisa Newbury's parents wanna see their daughter," Alec said.

"For the last time... I had nothing to do with that," Lee slowly snarled.

"I don't believe you," Alec retorted.

"You got it wrong," Lee repeated, like a mantra. "It's over."

"Not for the parents. Not for me," Alec said.

"What about for me?" Lee stepped up to him, finally showing an ounce of heat in his face and voice. "I lost my whole life cos of you. I had to leave the country."

"So, why'd you come back?" Alec asked him.

"I want my life back," Lee insisted. "Now tell me where I find Claire. Or do I have to follow you around everywhere?"

"Yeah, give it a go," Alec bluffed.

Lee slowly took out a card from his pocket and stuffed it into Alec's coat, "Here's my number. You tell her to call me." He turned his back and started walking away, but not without snidely commenting as he did, "Sorry about your health."

"What did you say?" Alec asked him, hiding how the words affected him.

Lee turned to him and spoke too casually, "Someone said you were sick."

If that confrontation hadn't been the perfect topping to the shit sundae that was his day, as he walked into his home, he caught Ellie on the couch with one of his Sandbrook case files. He could immediately feel the anger well up in his voice as he shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

Like a teen boy caught with a nudie magazine, Ellie quickly closed the file, "Nothing."

He grabbed it out of her hands and shoved it back in its place in his desk, "Put it away! God's sake!"

"Don't have a go at me," she cried, defensively.

"How dare you!" he yelled. "I ask one wee favour."

"Why have you got that?" she wanted to know.

"None of your business," he growled.

"You've made it my business," she pointed out.

Their next argument was paused when his cell phone rang, and he opted to answer rather than explain to her why he had that file. "What?... Yeah. Actually, I'm with her right now."

* * *

Bonnie still felt like crying even thirty minutes after receiving her summons to testify at Joe's trial. She didn't want to get dragged into the trial and she had no idea what kind of questions his attorney would want to ask her and where they would lead. She couldn't possibly ever mention anything to do with Danny in the moments after his death. She couldn't let on that she'd seen him. What she could do. She had to be very careful not to expose herself and seem crazy and also not perjure herself.

She decided while she had multiple employees working to cover the floor, she would busy herself packing. Distract her mind. Only, her mind was as much of a busybody as her and she had to sit down at her table with her computer and do research into the type of people who might defend the monster.

She knew his representation from the what-should-have-been arraignment and sentencing was a young woman named Abby Thompson. It was easy to look up her name and find out where she worked and who she worked for. Sharon Bishop. It was easy enough to get public information about her life as well, to get a feel for what kind of person she was. No matter what, Bonnie felt all her respect for either parties dwindled into ash as result of their taking Joe's case. No person with integrity could willingly help a child killer get off.

When her distraction was satisfied enough, she went back to packing. The last time she'd packed up her things, it was to run away to Broadchurch to start her life over. It had felt like boxing her life away into parts and rearranging them into some play for the town to pass off the new person she wanted to become following her total breakdown in the city. It had felt heavy and like she was breaking her life apart. This time was different. It didn't feel like she was packing her life away to start over. It felt like she was packing pieces of her current life to move them onto a new and better one. It was moving forward, not away.

It brought a smile to her otherwise anxious face as she taped and labeled boxes and decided what she was going to have loaded into a cab and what she was going to move into the back room of the store for storage. She felt she had to hurry on before Hardy got too buried in his second wave of the Sandbrook case. She wanted to settle into her new life with him. And soon.

* * *

"Did she say what she wanted?" Ellie asked Hardy as they trekked up the coast towards the home of the well-known solicitor who agreed to take the Latimers' case against Joe. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. Stop wittering, Miller," he complained. But then he added, "Ashworth came to see me earlier. Said he's looking for Claire and he's not gonna stop till he finds her."

"Well, you said that's what you wanted. Now you've got it," Ellie muttered as they approached Jocelyn's gate as the older woman walked out to meet them.

"Alec Hardy," Hardy introduced himself.

"I know," the woman answered in her deep, old voice.

"Ellie. Ellie Miller," Ellie said first.

The woman didn't seem all too pleasant as she only opened the gate and said, "Come in," ushering them into her home.

Ellie looked out the sliding glass door at the cliff, beaches, and water, "Wow. Look at that view. I've always envied this house. How long have you been here?"

"Please have a seat," the woman made no efforts to welcome them, right down to business. As they sat down on a couch across from her in a rocking chair, she began, "Do both of you understand how a prosecution case is built in court? It's my responsibility to prove your husband's guilt beyond doubt. And I do this by building a wall of evidence, in front of the jury, brick by brick. Each piece of evidence is a new brick. When it's built, the wall is unassailable." When they made no move to seem confused, she understood that they understood and moved on. "Right. Some bricks are more important than others. Cornerstones, for example. A confession by the accused. Absolutely crucial."

"What did you call us here for?" Alec asked, tired of hearing all about what he'd already had experience with over the course of his career.

With a frown, Jocelyn took out one of her own files and opened it to show them the photos of Joe's injuries after Ellie had kicked the crap out of him after being told he was the killer. There were nasty bruises up and down his sides that made Ellie flinch. She only cringed harder at Jocelyn's accusatory tone, "You assaulted Joe Miller in the interview room at Broadchurch police station." She turned to Hardy, "While you stood and watched."

"Oh, God," Ellie muttered under her breath.

"I have seen the tape. What the hell were you doing?" The solicitor stared at Ellie like she was a child who knew nothing.

"I was upset," Ellie excused weakly. "I didn't believe what was happening and I asked to see my husband."

"Police brutality?" Jocelyn scoffed incredulously. "Extracting a confession through violence?"

"It had been a very intense day," Hardy explained stoically. "It was an error of judgment, but I had her removed as fast as I could."

But Jocelyn wasn't pacified but exasperated. "How am I supposed to deal with this in court? Hm? Do you realize how the defense will use this?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered.

"But how can you not have realized this was coming?"

"Well, he confessed. He was gonna plead guilty," Ellie said, blindsided by the recent actions of her husband.

"And you giving him a kicking gave him an opportunity not to," Jocelyn shot at her. "If they don't get it excluded straight away, which is a definite possibility, you have to go on the stand and defend it. So, you better start thinking how you're going to justify what happened that day. Because we need this evidence in. We can't afford to lose this confession."

"His confession happened before I even saw him," Ellie pointed out.

"Won't make a blind bit of difference," Jocelyn said. "All the defense needs to do is connect the two events by suggestion. You have jeopardized my best chance of success before we even got going."

* * *

"Why didn't you stop me that day?" Ellie asked as she and Hardy sat on the boardwalk at the beach, the same place they'd last spoken after arresting Joe – when she determined that she would start over with her boys far away from Broadchurch.

"Oh, it's my fault now?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Why did you let me see him?" she asked again, ashamed of herself.

"I felt sorry for you," he lamented. "I didn't expect you to go all Bruce Lee on him."

"Everyone will find out now," she complained. She put her face in her hands, "Shit. Tom will hear about it. His mum beating up his dad in a police station. Oh, God. What do I do? I just wanna run away or hide of emigrate or... Oh, God."

"What have you eaten today?" he asked abruptly.

"KitKat and a Scotch egg."

* * *

Bonnie had tried and tried to keep distracting herself from the package, the note from her aunt and mother, her summons, her research into Sharon and Abby and even her packing. But the notes, mail, and summons had arrived, she'd done her research, and she'd finished with most of her important packing. Now all she had to think about was work and the glaring anger bubbling inside of her at her aunt's actions and her mother's continued efforts to intrude in on her life.

All her life she had run away from her mother and her old life and rebuilt herself. But she needed to not run, to doge instead. But she couldn't hide her anger either. So, she called up her Uncle Jay. And he could tell it wasn't good to be getting a phone call rather than a skype call or text message.

"Bonnie? Is something wrong? I heard about the trial."

"This isn't about the trial." She couldn't keep the anger from her voice and tone. "It's about your wife and my mother."

She could hear Jay repressing a sigh. "Did Uma call you again?"

"Oh, no," she scoffed, building herself up to a rant. "She really one-upped herself this time. She's taken it upon herself to pass on messages from Marge to me."

"What?" Jay sounded genuinely confused. "I didn't even know she was talking to Marge anymore. I haven't heard her bring any of that up for a few years now."

"Well, she's been keeping some secrets," Bonnie spat. "Because they're close enough for Marge to be sending her copies of her new book to send one to my store with a note from Uma that personal differences shouldn't get in between mother and daughter. And maybe – _maybe –_ I'll give her some benefit of the doubt and assume she didn't know about the note my mother had slipped into the book jacket talking about how she wants to see me and that I _owe_ her."

"Jesus," she heard her uncle breathe out. "I don't know what on Earth could have gotten into her. Either of them. I'm sorry, annwyl."

Bonnie wanted to be pacified. She wanted to be comforted and know that she had her Uncle on her side. But she was too angry, betrayed, and violated now. "I wish sorry was enough, Uncle Jay. But she has massively overstepped and even violated my wishes for privacy and for Marge not to know where I live. If she's sent mom's package to me on her behalf, then how am I supposed to trust that she hasn't given out my address? Huh?"

"I will talk to her," Jay promised. "I will make her give up all contact with Marge and make her see that stepping into your life and relationship with Marge this way is not all right."

"If she's gone this far, what makes you think that either of them will give up until they somehow get me and my mother together?" she said. "Have you seen the book?"

"You mean the follow up about Lila?" he asked.

"That's not what it is anymore," she told him. "Now, it is some sort of memoir about our relationship as mother and daughter and how I abandoned her fifteen years ago. Or I assume from the summary and title. I haven't bothered to read any of it – it makes me so angry."

"I understand, I'll talk to her. I'll make her apologize to you-"

"I don't want to hear from her," Bonnie quickly interjected. "I'm not interested in her apologies, or her justifications. As far as I'm concerned right now, I don't want to hear anything from her again."

She guessed he wanted to argue that point. He didn't want to be caught between his wife and his brother's daughter, even if he knew his wife was in the wrong. "I understand. I'll fix it. I promise."

"Just tell her to stay out of my life, Jay," Bonnie said before hanging up and tossing her phone on her bed. She needed to finish up packing her bedroom and get a cab ready to take them over to Alec's house – their house.

* * *

Cutlery scraped and bumped into glass plates as Hardy and Ellie mutely ate lunch at the small table in his water-side home. "Claire needs to meet Ashworth. I wanna put them together."

"And you don't see that as a risk?" Ellie asked him.

"No. No, it's not a risk, it's an opportunity," he corrected. "It's only gonna come once."

"Do it officially," she suggested. "Talk to Jenkinson or one of your old bosses."

"Nobody cares, Miller," he snarled, more at the situation rather than at her. "The case is tainted. Nobody wants to get near it. That's my failing. I've got to put it right."

"What if he didn't do it?" Ellie almost hesitated to ask. "What if you're wrong?"

He couldn't directly answer her, "Just help me convince Claire."

* * *

"You risked everything for me and I let you down," Hardy admitted, trying to convince Claire to agree to meet with Lee.

"Yes."

"But there are two families back in Sandbrook. The Gillespies still don't know who killed their daughter. The Newburys don't even have a body," he implored with her.

"Why is this on me?" she asked, desperate to keep out of it.

"Cos he trusts you," Hardy explained, knowing how much Lee wanted Claire back.

"Don't make me see him," she begged quietly from her little couch.

"We'll protect you," Hardy promised.

"No, I can't go back into that place," she shook her head, not even hesitating.

Ellie suddenly stood up, "Come on, get your coat."

"What for?" Claire asked, confused.

"Miller?" Hardy asked.

Ellie slipped on her orange coat, "Ignore him. We're gonna get some air. Come on."

* * *

The abandoned wives sat against small bathing sheds on the sand with greasy paper plates of chips, snacking and chatting. Claire even commented, "These are the best chips I've had in my life."

"I'll let you into a secret. I had salad earlier. I hate salad," Ellie said with a grin. After a quiet interlude, she asked, "How have you not gone crackers up in that cottage? No work, no friends?"

Claire scoffed, "I know. I used to be a hairdresser before all this. Talking all day."

"Will you do mine one time?" the former DS requested.

"If you like."

"Is that how you met your husband?" Ellie asked more somberly.

"More or less," Claire said before pausing. "Client of mine was having a barbecue, I was new to the area, he was there. Fancied him soon as I saw him. It was like a chemical reaction. Three hours later I was shagging him on his floor."

"You weren't," Ellie guffawed. "Wow. I've never done anything like that."

"You must have," Claire responded with disbelief.

"I haven't," Ellie said.

"How'd you meet your husband?" Claire asked.

"Best not," Ellie tried to hedge.

"Oh, go on."

Ellie quietly stared out at the water, reliving what should have been some of the happiest moments of her life but were not forever tainted. "It was a traffic accident. A little old lady in a Nissan Micra. Gone into the back of a Land Rover. Bit of a bump. Just minor whiplash. I was a WPC and Joe was a paramedic." She couldn't help but smile, "He was kind and twinkly. And I thought, 'I like the look of you.' I didn't tell him, though, for another six weeks. Then we kept bumping into each other. He said, 'We must stop meeting like this.'" A pregnant pause enveloped them before Ellie finally asked, "Do you think he killed those girls?"

"I can't bear to think about it," Claire said.

"Do you think he was capable of it?" Ellie asked, trying not to slip into cop-mode.

"I don't know. Do you think your husband was?" Claire responded with a bit of malice, instantly sobering once the words were out of her mouth.

Ellie fought her flinch and tried again to start convincing Claire, "Claire, if you did agree to meet Lee..."

"I put myself on the line before and it went wrong, and I ended up a prisoner down here, Ellie," Claire replied.

"I understand what you're going through," Ellie pointed out.

"No, you don't," Claire snapped.

"But if you're still hiding, what happens? The Sandbrook family will never get the truth," Ellie tried to appeal to her.

Claire looked away, "Not my responsibility."

Ellie frowned at the other woman, "I know you don't want it to be, but I think it is."

Claire scoffed, "Look what these men have done to us." Her face and hands with chips became more animated as she described the toxicity she'd suffered with Lee, "It was like I was addicted to him. Like he was my drug. And I broke that habit, Ellie, and I'm... I'm afraid if I'm near him again... I'm scared."

"We'll look after you," Ellie promised.

"Why would you do that?" Claire asked, honestly baffled at this stranger offering her protection. She was never involved with Sandbrook and didn't even work with Hardy anymore.

Ellie looked away now, "Cos my life, my old life, is gone. And I made so many mistakes. Some big ones. And I need to put something right. We could do it together."

* * *

 **Rolling along...**

 **REVIEW**

 **RegalGirl94**


	3. Chapter 3: She's the Devil

CHAPTER THREE

SHE'S THE DEVIL

Bonnie was surprised to hear from Beth so soon after the trail went belly up the way it had. She was also surprised when Beth asked her to come by the house. Everyone called to play witness in court was coming. And when she arrived she saw them – Nige, Olly and Maggie, Olly's mom she'd never met, the Latimers, even Paul.

"What are we doing here?"

Her question was cut off by the door and Beth rushing off to open it, ushering their new representation for the trial – Jocelyn Knight – inside, "Everyone, Jocelyn's here." Jocelyn instantly looked uncomfortable, but Beth powered through, "Oh, sorry. It just sort of mushroomed. We wanted to thank everyone for being witnesses and giving evidence for Danny. I just thought you could clue us in on what to expect."

"Beth, she can't be here," Bonnie cut in. "It'll look like collusion – like she's coaching our statements to make in court. It'll hurt the case against Joe."

"She's right," Jocelyn eagerly added. "It's completely inappropriate. I shouldn't be here."

Mark muttered, "We didn't know. We haven't done this before. Sorry."

Jocelyn looked at the group of lost and clueless people, "A criminal trial is a detailed, unpredictable process. There are no guarantees. We have a difficult task ahead. If you've been called, don't confer on your evidence. And never lie. Lies get exposed in court."

Beth cut in, "You're fine there. None of us have got anything left to hide."

The older woman nodded, "I'll do everything I can to secure a conviction but it's not just down to me. It's on everyone in this room. Everyone in this town." Nervously, she backed towards the door, "Now, I – I really shouldn't be here," and she walked out with Maggie going after her.

"How did you know that?" Nige asked Bonnie curiously. "About us not being allowed to talk to her?"

"I'm dating a former DI," she shrugged, hiding the real reason. She'd been forced to testify on her mother's behalf in the trial over Lila Davidson, answering questions about her mother's work with the police. She'd only further resented her mother for putting her in that position.

"Some pillow talk then," Nige muttered under his breath with a smirk.

"I'm going to head out," Bonnie bid goodbye to her friend quietly. "I've got some boxes to load into a van and get to the house."

"Boxes?" Beth questioned.

With a small and awkward smile, "Alec asked me to move in with him. Denise's possible replacement may take over the lease for the apartment. I'll be a landlord."

"That's lovely," Beth said quietly, rubbing her friend's arm as she walked her out.

Quietly, she made her way back to the bookstore and called a cab after closing up. As she requested, a mini-van rolled up and the jolly driver helped her load her bedroom into the back of it before driving over to Alec's water-side home and helping her drop the boxes into the living room. After giving him a generous tip, she waved him off and started depositing her clothes into the closet, after removing half of his that he never wore. She figured he would be too preoccupied to start making room so quickly.

"Honey, I'm home?" She heard a deep Scottish voice of her partner as she was still hanging up clothes in the closet.

With a smile, she put down her half empty box of clothes and walked out to see him trying to navigate to the couch around the other boxes on the floor of the living room.

"You sure do move fast," he commented as he sank down onto the couch cushions next to his desk. "I haven't even gotten a chance to clear out room for you in the closet."

"I took care of it," she grinned as she situated herself onto his lap. "But like I said, don't think your work gets you out of helping me unpack at all. I decided only to bring what I need."

He rose an eyebrow at all the boxes, "So, this is the essentials, huh?"

She smirked, "And what _you_ need. Like a decent kettle and mugs. And floss."

He snorted in his nose, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his chest. "I didn't see your bike. Doubt you got all this in the basket."

"I got a cab," she sighed, tucking her head into his shoulder. "I'll get another cab tomorrow morning. And move the rest of my things into storage and start cleaning the apartment for a possible new tenant. Though I still have a couple more interviews to get through."

"It'll work out," he promised, stroking her hair.

"How was your day?" she asked softly, pressing her lips to his neck lightly.

He blew out a sigh, "Well, Jocelyn Knight, the Latimers solicitor, briefed Miller and I about a road bump we might be heading for in the trial. The defense will probably try to get the confession I got from Joe Miller excluded from evidence – siting police brutality."

"Police brutality?" Bonnie pulled her head up to look at him. "You didn't beat the confession out of him. You really couldn't have."

"But Ellie had seen him after I told her he confessed," Alec told her solemnly. "She attacked him. I got her out of there as fast as I could, but Knight says the defense will still use it, even if it happened after he confessed."

"That is utter horseshit," she cursed, having already adopted a lot of his language mannerisms.

He grinned at her language, "I agree. And hopefully, the defense will fail to get the confession thrown out in court. But that will still force me to take the stand and justify why I even allowed Miller in the same room as him. Why I didn't reasonably expect that she might attack him. Why I put him in danger under police custody."

"You couldn't have expected what happened, you're not clairvoyant," she said. "Any reasonable person in the jury will see that the confession is legitimate despite Ellie's reaction to seeing him after. I mean, who could be so stupid not to see that?"

"Not everyone is as smart as you," he teased, kissing her cheek.

"Anything about the Sandbrook today?" she asked him. "With, um, what's her name?"

"Claire."

She rose her eyebrow, "Oh? You're on a first name basis, huh?"

He looked at her, "I can't call her Ashworth while I'm pursuing her husband of the same name. She freaks out anytime I so much as breathe anything about him."

Bonnie couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous or suspicious. Alec had never told her about this woman he was keeping in a little house. She was the reason that he moved to Broadchurch. And Bonnie had always thought that she was the reason he stayed. But maybe that was Claire too. And he had such an aversion to first names that he still called Ellie, Miller. Bonnie had thought she was the only one he called by their first name. But that was Claire too. She didn't like sharing intimate gestures with a woman she'd never met and only just heard of.

"Are you two close?" she asked almost hesitantly.

"As close as any cop and witness may be when one is protecting the other," he spoke slowly.

"But you're not a DI anymore and the case she's a witness for was thrown out," she pointed out carefully. "There's no real official capacity to your relationship anymore."

"There's nothing intimate either," he looked into her eyes, unflinching. "That I swear."

She nodded, "I trust you, Alec."

"Good," he murmured, giving her a kiss. While connected, he took her by surprise when he gently tossed her onto her back on the couch and settled above her. "Now, how's about we celebrate our new home and then I'll help you unpack?"

She giggled and leaned up to kiss him passionately, taking him up on his offer enthusiastically.

* * *

Bonnie was sound asleep on the couch with one of the books from her designated book box while Hardy sat at his desk, bent over his files. His concentration was interrupted by a rapping knock on his glass front door and he opened it to see a sad or regretful looking Ellie.

"She'll do it. Claire's agreed to meet him."

"Oh, man. I could kiss you," he murmured through his glasses.

"Just promise me that she'll be safe, and you won't do anything reckless," she requested, leaving no room for argument.

"She'll be safe. Nothing reckless," he promised. At her unwavering worry, he added another, "She'll be safe."

"Good night," she said simply.

"See you."

* * *

Bonnie was annoyed that she'd have to sit around in court before being called to witness, if and when it happened. She could be waiting around for days while she should be working. She had to call the rest of her interviews to convert them to skype calls she could do from a spot outside the courthouse.

That morning, she woke up still in the arms of her new live-in boyfriend. She was startled to see him awake and still in bed. Still sleepily she asked with a grin, "Since when do you not pop right out of bed to get in a suit the minute you wake up?"

"Since I got a woman enormously out of my league to move in with me," he smiled quickly, giving her a kiss. "How did I get so lucky?"

"Your seductive interrogation skills," she quipped, stretching her arms and sitting up to crawl out of bed. "I can't believe I have to sit around in a courthouse all morning when we all know they're not going to call me until the end."

"You know what they'll question you about, right?" he asked her, following her lead and starting to get dressed. "Our relationship. If I behaved inappropriately or shared any privileged information about the investigation."

"If I used you and our relationship to skirt suspicion," she guessed accurately as she slipped on a yellow sundress with navy geometric shapes on them. He would never get used to her sunny and happy wardrobe. "I know she's going to try and sling mud right in my face hoping something sticks if only it means that she can get a child killer off on the sentencing he deserves. Fucking Sharon Bishop and her cronie."

"You need to keep your cool on the stand," he said seriously as they made their way into the bathroom to brush their teeth and such, weaving around each other like they'd been living together for years rather than less than 24 hours. "You need to answer the questions as concisely as possible. Don't let the defense bait you like they will try to."

"I'm too smart for that," she said after spitting into the sink. "Besides – and this probably makes me sound bad – but given the nature of my... let's call them proclivities, I've been forced to become adept at using doublespeak to skirt the truth without having to lie. I don't like lying."

"I like that last part," he quipped as they left the bathroom for the kitchen while she went right to making tea. "Did you ever appear in court before?"

"For Lila Davidson's case," she sighed as she put the kettle on. "I'd been called by the defense of the pervert who took her. To testify about my mother's involvement with the case and her abilities. They tried to trip me up and say that her abilities weren't real. Even tried to get me to say I believed that I had the same abilities. Trying to get us declared incompetent or, or legally insane or something. I coached myself into staying calm, sounding intelligent, and saying exactly the right words to tell the truth without saying what I couldn't say."

She helped him with his tie as he spoke to her, "Sounds devious. Little minx."

She winked, "You know it. Ready for today? You'll probably be one of the first called, being the lead investigator and all."

"No one's ever ready," he sighed.

Sitting outside the courthouse in her headphones interviewing a twenty-something sociology major wasn't exactly what her mind was set on at the moment. But she made it as quick as possible while getting the information she needed because any moment now court would begin, Beth or Hardy could be called, and both had requested she be present for at least their testimonies. She didn't want to be around for most of the trial – at least not inside. She could still feel the pain Danny went through as he was dying whenever she was near Joe, remembering with excruciating detail what his hands felt like choking Danny to death.

Inside, Hardy and Ellie were sitting on the upper floor at a table, her with a muffin, griping, "I can't believe we have to be here until we give evidence. It could be days. I'll go mad. Are you listening to me?"

He hadn't been – not really. He had caught sight of none other than Lee leaning casually against a post down the stairs, staring right up at them. With a blank face, Hardy stood up and stalked down the stairs, right up to the murdered, "She'll see you. I decide when, where and for how long. I'll pick you up from an agreed location. I'll text you the details."

Lee chuckled under his breath, "So she's been with you all along."

"It won't be a long meeting and I'll be watching," the former DI added sternly.

Lee glared, "You don't control us."

"No," Hardy turned, ready to rescind the offer.

"She's beautiful, by the way," his voice made Hardy halt and turn back.

"What did you say?" His voice was low and almost deadly.

But Lee didn't really answer. The now smirking Brit said, "See you later, then."

Hardy stared as he walked off with a skip in his step, spinning on his heel and walking up to Ellie, "I need you to do something for me."

* * *

To Jocelyn Knight, being back in court making opening statements felt like an out of body experience. But, to satisfy her conscience facing off with her former employee, Sharon Bishop, she pushed through. Keeping her voice even, "The man in the dock, Joe Miller, killed Daniel Latimer. Then he moved Danny's body to a nearby beach. Forensic evidence places him at the murder scene. Mr. Miller surrendered to the police saying he was sick of hiding. Mr. Miller confessed to police. The facts are clear and will enable you to convict Mr. Miller of Daniel Latimer's murder."

* * *

Bonnie had just finished up her first interview when Chloe waved her into the building, saying that Beth had been called in for her testimony. Sitting in the court with the Latimers felt cold and cruel.

Jocelyn made sure her voice was as soothing as it could be as she questioned Beth standing up there with her big belly cupped in her hands. "When was the last time you saw your son alive?"

Beth tried to keep her voice even, but there was a slight shake in it the whole time she spoke, "I looked in on him around nine that night. We'd all had tea together just after six. Mark had gone out. Me and Chloe were watching telly. Danny was in his bedroom. Had music on. I told him he had till half nine then he had to go to bed."

"And Danny gave no indication that he would be meeting anyone later in the night?" Jocelyn asked.

Beth shook her head, "No. Nothing. There was nothing to make me think, I..." she trailed off, her eyes unfocused and emotional, "I replay that moment every day. Shutting the door on him, all the things I didn't ask. How it would have been different if I'd been a better parent."

"Thank you, Mrs. Latimer. Stay where you are, please," Jocelyn said as she sat down.

Sharon stood up and feigned compassion as she spoke. It made Bonnie sick. "As a mum myself, I know it must be difficult. I'll keep it short. How was your marriage at the time of Danny's death?"

Beth was understandably taken aback by the question. "Fine."

Sharon kept her face straight. "Had you or your husband ever had an affair?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Beth asked in frustration. She turned to the judge, "Can she ask that?"

The Judge inclined her head slowly, "Yes, she can. And the court needs you to answer."

Beth bit on her lips before she answered, "My husband slept with Becca Fisher. She owns the Traders Hotel."

"Did Danny know about it?"

Beth tried not to avert her eyes, "Yes. I found out later that he did."

"Did you ever hit Danny?"

"No." This time she answered immediately.

"Did your husband?" Sharon asked. When Beth remained quiet, she nudged, "Mrs. Latimer?"

Beth became outwardly exasperated, "What's going on? Who's on trial here?"

The Judge said, "You need to answer the question."

But Beth wasn't having it, "Is it not enough that my son was murdered by that man there," she jabbed her finger at Joe, "and that I lost my mum three months back because she was broken by this? Now I've got to stand here while you ask me about things that aren't connected."

But Sharon pushed, "Mrs. Latimer, did your husband Mark ever hit Danny?"

After a desperate pause, Beth had to admit, "Once. It was only once."

"Thank you," Sharon said sternly.

Jocelyn frowned as she said, "No re-examination, My Lady."

"Thank you, Mrs. Latimer. You are released."

* * *

Bonnie felt a unique anxiety when she watched Alec take the stand. But Jocelyn kept it quick and straight to the facts of the case.

"DI Hardy, you were the arresting officer."

"Correct."

"I'd like you to take us through the events of Mr. Miller's arrest," she requested. "Where did the arrest take place?"

"At Mr. Miller's house."

Unfortunately, as Bonnie feared, Sharon did not keep to facts but to supposition and badgering. "You coerced Joe Miller into saying he killed Daniel Latimer, didn't you, DI Hardy?"

When Alec answered her, he addressed the jury almost directly. "No. I found him in the shed with the phone. And he confessed, as I have recorded in my notes."

With a swagger in her voice, Sharon said, "I suggest that Joe Miller found Daniel Latimer's phone and was about to report it to the police when you arrived alone and jumped to a false conclusion because it suited your purposes."

"What purpose would that be?" Alec asked her blankly, addressing her this time only.

"You were under pressure. You needed a result, didn't you?" she speculated.

"There's always pressure to find a killer," he said.

"Hadn't you just been labeled Britain's worst cop by the national press?" she asked, as if it made her case.

He gaped, "One paper."

Jocelyn stood up to quickly intercede, "Are we letting the media judge this trial? Or are we sticking to facts?"

The Judge agreed, "Stick with the events of the arrest, Miss Bishop."

Sharon enthusiastically submitted, "Absolutely. Let's move to the station." With the look on her face, Bonnie knew she wasn't done attacking Alec. "When was a doctor called for Mr. Miller?"

This confused some people, mainly the Latimers in front of her. But she knew the situation.

"I believe it was around 2:15pm."

"Why did you call a doctor?" Sharon asked curiously.

"Mr. Miller had sustained an injury," Alec explained.

" _Injuries_ , plural," Sharon emphasized. "He sustained a broken rib and bruising to the neck, chest and torso." When Alec didn't immediately reply, she spoke again, "Correct?"

"Yes."

"How did he get these injuries?" Sharon asked. When he hesitated, she nearly shouted, "DI Hardy how did the defendant sustain injuries while in custody at Broadchurch police station?"

Clearing his throat, Alec looked at the jury again, "After DS Miller learned of her husband, the defendant's, confession, she asked to see him."

"Against allowed procedure," she berated him.

"Yes."

"Who allowed this visit?" she asked.

He made a pointed to say clearly, "I did. I supervised, along with two other officers."

"What happened?"

With averted eyes, he said, "DS Miller attacked the defendant."

Sharon scoffed loudly, "She kicked the living daylights out of him, didn't she? And you – you just stood there and watched, didn't you?" She spoke like she thought it was funny.

"No," Alec insisted, "as soon as she started attacking him, I called in other officers and they removed DS Miller." After a short paused, he added, "It was _my_ error. It had been... a long and emotional investigation."

"How many other times was the defendant beaten while in custody?" Sharon assumed wildly.

"None."

"Did you use violence against the defendant at the house in order to get him to make a confession?" Sharon spoke as if it were more of a statement.

"Absolutely not," Alec said sternly.

"Why should we believe you?" Sharon berated him. "An officer who, by his own admission, stood by and watched as a colleague beat up a suspect."

"No, that's not how it happened," Alec denied without pause.

But she powered through his speaking and addressed the judge, "The defense applies to have the defendant's confession excluded pursuant to Section 76 and 78 of Pace."

Jocelyn interjected, "The confession is on camera. The injuries were sustained after he confessed."

"We cannot discount the possibility that the injuries were sustained before his arrival at the police station," Sharon countered.

After a long anxious pause – in where Bonnie reached forward to put a hand on Beth's shoulder and hoped and prayed that the judge wouldn't side with Sharon – the Judge finally nodded and said, "I agree with the defense. I am minded to exclude the confession from evidence." Beth and Mark withered into each other at the news. Bonnie couldn't believe it. "Members of the jury, you are to disregard it entirely."

* * *

"She berated you!" was the first thing Bonnie growled as she walked beside Alec out of the room, shouldering her messenger bag weighted down with her computer and books. "She hounded you like the media did, like your boss did. She worded and twisted everything to make the jury think you let Ellie beat a confession out of Joe."

"I know. But it's done. We have to move on," Alec said as he took her elbow and helped her out of the building.

"Let's see you move on when you get strangled near death," she spat at him emotionally, jabbing one finger into his chest and her other hand flinching to her throat where the ghosts of her strangulation still haunted her – the pain, the panic.

He stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing her misguided anger and simply pulled her into him, hugging his arms around her as she sagged into his chest.

She quietly said, "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you."

"I know, even if I shouldn't have let Ellie see Joe so soon after telling her what he confessed," he replied. "Now the confession's thrown out."

"It's a nightmare," she whimpered into his coat. "She's the devil."

He chuckled in his chest, "Perhaps." As the pulled away, he coughed under his breath and regrettably said, "Unfortunately, I have to go."

"Something with Claire?" she asked, still feeling a bit jealous.

He frowned, "Miller and I set up a meet with her and Lee. At Miller's old house. I have to prepare it for her safety."

"Miller will be there then?" she asked.

He nodded, "Guarding the front door while I guard the back and they meet in the living room with cameras. All goes well, we'll get something I can use to move forward."

"Be careful," she said, fingering his coat lapels. "You can't go chasing after anyone if they try to escape. I need you to make it home tonight to help me continue unpacking. And if you feel so inclined, you could pick up something for dinner on your way."

He smirked, "Oh, if I feel so inclined, huh?"

She smiled more freely now, "Yeah. Something tasty that goes well with your tea."

He gave her a quick kiss. "What do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"Two more skype interviews I plan to do from home instead of the store," she said. "Then going over all the applicants and hopefully making a decision by the end of the day."

"Sounds productive, and relatively more exciting than my day," he quipped, walking her to one of the cabs hovering at the curb outside. He promised her that he'd catch another and be home in time for dinner _with_ dinner and bid her off with a kiss, ready to go to work.

When she got home, she tipped the cab driver and situated her messenger bag on her shoulders, not paying attention to the scenery in front of her as she dug out her house key from one of the pockets. She had just dragged out her key ring and picked out the right key when she looked up approaching the house and stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a woman waiting at the front steps. A woman with the same long curly hair as her, same face shape, and figure.

The woman smiled and jumped excitedly upon seeing her approaching the house. "Oh Magpie, you're finally back! I've been waiting here for hours it seems."

Bonnie just stared, gaping, feeling numbness in her bones stabbed with anger, and indignation and most of all, shock. "Mom?"

* * *

 **Dun, dun, dun... more to come soon.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	4. Chapter 4: Marjorie MacQueen

CHAPTER FOUR

MARJORIE MACQUEEN

The Claire and Lee meet had gone absolutely horribly. Hardy had taken the time to plant cameras. He kept in the kitchen watching the back entrance. But some commotion started out of nowhere and suddenly he was rushing into the living room where there was no sign of Lee or Claire. He shouted for her. Raced through neighboring houses and asked around. Before he raced back into the Miller house to see Ellie looking at the cameras set down on the coffee table.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Checking the cameras. Ashworth turned them off," she said.

"Why didn't you see them?" he shouted.

She gestured out the window into the street where she had been confronted by a very angry and pregnant Beth. "I had Beth to deal with."

But he was seething, "What is the point of you? Give me your keys." He held his hand out for them, "Car keys! Now!"

"You're not supposed to drive," she protested.

"I'm gonna look for them because you didn't do what we agreed. Keys!" he demanded, snapping his fingers insistently.

She glared at him, "No, this is not my fault. Don't put this on me. I am sick of everyone putting their shit on me when I'm not responsible. I'm sick to the back teeth of taking flak for stuff I haven't done." When he didn't say anything, still holding out his hand for the keys, she groaned and searched through her purse for them, tossing them at him, "Fine. You have the keys. I hope you bloody well crash and have a heart attack while you are crashing!"

It had been a while since he had ever driven, the gears of Ellie's car grinding as Hardy struggled to think of where they could be, "Think, think, think. Where would you take her? Where would you go?"

Meanwhile, Ellie ran after Beth as the pregnant women – in labor presently – was trying to walk through the grassy verge to her own house. "Beth, what are you doing?"

"Ellie do not come near me," the pained woman snarled at her.

"Have you phoned Mark?"

"I haven't got my mobile, I ran out cos of you," she groaned as she was practically bent over in pain and could hardly waddle across the grass.

Ellie was at her side trying to support here even as the other woman tried to push her away. She pulled out her phone, "So I'll call him. Just take it slow. Were you having contractions before your waters broke?"

"Get off me," Beth tried to push her away, but Ellie held onto her arm. "Been having them for days on and off. Midwife kept saying they were Braxton Hicks."

"He's on voicemail," Ellie said as she put her phone away.

"Course he bloody is," Beth cursed to herself. Mark had been unreachable at weird times. It grated on her. That coupled with his resistance to her asking for a date made her feel like she had when she found out about Becca Fisher. What was going on with him?

"I'll call Bonnie. Maybe she can drive you to the hospital," Ellie offered.

"I'm not going to the hospital. I'm having a home birth," Beth said.

Ellie gaped at her, "What are you doing that for?"

"Will you just go away!?" Beth shouted at her.

Ellie wasn't having it anymore though. "You stupid cow I'm trying to help you. You can't even walk, now, lean on me."

"I don't want you here," Beth groaned quietly.

"Well, tough shit."

* * *

Alec ended up at the little house he'd gotten to hide Claire, rushing in and shouting, "Claire! Claire!" He stopped when Lee came out into the living room, and rushed at him, "Where is she?" Lee attacked back at him, flipping him onto the ground and putting a foot on his chest. His chest felt tight, "Argh!"

Lee smirked, "Where is who?" He pushed his foot down on Alec, making him groan. "You bugged us."

"Where is Claire? What have you done with her?" Alec gasped. He couldn't lose her. She was the key to closing the Sandbrook case.

"We're not suspects. We are not prisoners," Lee spat at him.

Claire rushed in, hearing the commotion. When she saw how Lee had Alec on the floor, she rushed over and pulled on Lee's arm, "Get off him!" She helped Alec off when Lee calmly stepped away, "You all right?"

"Course he's all right," Lee said.

"I want you out," Alec said, still a little wheezy.

"Or what, you'll call the police?" Lee guffawed.

"Out now!" Alec demanded.

"You don't set how long I spend with my wife," Lee snarled quietly before turning to Claire and cupping her face, bringing her in for a kiss right in front of Alec's eyes. Alec watched as she turned her eyes to him as Lee kissed her. When he finally released her, he smirked close to his face, "Got it? Now, I will tell you everything that you missed at Sandbrook when you stop pissing me about." He turned to Claire briefly with a smile as he exited, "I'll call you, babe."

As soon as he was out of the house, Alec turned his anger onto her, "What the hell are you doing? Why the hell did you go with him?"

"Because I was terrified," she excused, sitting on the couch, "I haven't seen him in a year and a half and I did what he told me."

"You should have called me," he told her.

She scoffed, "'Hang on, Lee, love. I'll give Alec a ring.'"

"Did you just jump out of the window?" He didn't understand how they got away.

"Ran across a few gardens and flagged down a taxi," she told him.

"You brought him here?" he asked incredulously, waving his hands around the small house. "The _one_ place he doesn't know about."

She raised her voice defensively, "I had no choice. You put cameras in there without telling me."

"I wanted to know what he would say," Alec said heatedly.

"You don't trust me to tell you, no?" she poised for him, staring him down.

He gave her a look, "You want to talk about truth? Yeah?" He pulled out the envelope Ellie had told him she'd found – with a flattened bluebell inside. "What is this?"

"Dunno," she answered shortly, but he saw her face change when she saw it in his hands.

"Yeah? Don't lie to me, Claire," he responded, not believing her for a second. He pulled out the folded paper inside the envelope and showed her the flattened flower inside.

"It's a bluebell," she stated flatly. "It was sent to me like that... to... an old post office box I used to use, when I did mail-order hairdressing products. I..."

"Who sent it?" he demanded.

She shrugged, "I dunno."

"What does it mean? Why did you keep it?" he interrogated her.

She stood up and got in his face, trailing her fingers on his shoulder, "So you'd have something to find when sneaking through my cupboards. I don't want to talk to you. Get out."

"Claire," he cut in. "If there is anything you've not told me, about what happened with you and Lee, about Sandbrook, now is the time."

Her face shifted as she remembered the night – that night. And all that had happened.

 _What have you done? What have you done?_

"I have told you everything."

* * *

Bonnie stared daggers at her mother, standing on her front steps with a big smile like no time had passed. "What are you doing here? I have a restraining order."

"In America," Marge waved her hand dismissively, not taking it very seriously. She waved her arms out expansively, "Look! We're in jolly old England now."

"The law still applies here," Bonnie said in clipped tones. "You are not allowed to approach me, stalk me, contact me. Don't think it helps that you've been passing along messages and mail through Uma. Because that's done too. And I don't even want to _talk_ about how you found this address."

"I see you've gotten serious with this old bloke, eh?" her mother responded casually, using a poor British accent on the word 'bloke.' "What's his name?"

"None of your business," Bonnie said. "Leave."

"Oh, baby, I just want to talk to you," Marge tried to step forward and hug her daughter.

But Bonnie stepped back, glaring with hatred, "No. I'm not interested. I meant it when I said that I never wanted to see you again."

"You were eighteen," Marge dismissed.

"I said as much when I was ten and you dragged me and my father through custody court," she spat. "I said as much when I was fifteen and he died, and you threw his life insurance money meant for my college at a new house and new breasts. I said as much when I was eighteen and left home as soon as I was legally able. And I think I drove the point home when I changed my name."

"Kids rebel," Marge said, a bit tighter in her voice now. "They're supposed to fight against authority, their parents. They're supposed to run away."

"To their tree house, not another continent!" Bonnie shouted incredulously at her mother's attitude. "Listen to me, do not ever show your face around here again or I'll report you for harassment. Get far away from here."

She didn't bother even looking at the older woman anymore. She marched into the house after unlocking the door and slammed it closed, flipping the curtains over the glass so she couldn't see the other woman anymore. She couldn't stand the look of that woman. And she hoped she never would.

* * *

"They are every 40 seconds apart now. You're doing ever so well," Ellie coached Beth as the woman squatted in the water tub, screaming at each contraction.

The doorbell rang, and Chloe ran to get it, "I'll go."

"I need gas and air," Beth whimpered.

"Midwife is here!" Chloe called.

"Thank god for that," Ellie commented.

"It's coming again," Beth groaned, letting out a shout.

"Breathe into it," Ellie continued coaching her, holding her hand.

* * *

Bonnie was beyond upset now. She'd been angry getting the note. But to actually see her mother now. She brought out her phone and started instantly dialing her Uncles' number.

"Bon, I've talked to Uma and she-"

"Screw Uma!" Bonnie cursed loudly. "I'm done with her – for good. I never want to see or speak to her again. She's lucky I'm not pressing charges against her for helping Marge harass me."

"Slow down," he begged. "What's going on?"

"She was _here_!" Bonnie shouted, peering out of the curtains to see that thankfully her mother had gone. "Marge was here, right outside the door. Alec's door! I haven't even given you the new address, I can't bloody understand how she could have gotten it. But I'm damn sure I know where she got the name Broadchurch from!"

"I can't believe Uma would-"

"She would!" Bonnie cut him off. "You know Uma told her where I was Jay. If this blows up like it did when I first left, I may have to move again. And I can't put Alec through that. Which means I could lose him. This could derail my _whole life_ if I can't get her to leave me alone!"

"I won't let that happen," Jay swore. "I'll talk to Uma."

She let out a derisive snort, "Fat lot of good that did the first time around. She won't listen. She won't respect my privacy or my boundaries. She's aiding a woman I have a restraining order against. I don't want her in my life any longer. I don't want to hear from her or see her. She's nothing to me any longer. She just isn't."

"I'm – I'm sorry, Bon-"

"Of course, you are sorry," she sighed, losing her fight. "You married her." Feeling she'd said her piece now, she hung up the phone and sagged into the couch.

After a while, she started nodding off on the couch, and was woken with Alec's grumbling as he creaked into the house. "Why are the curtains drawn?"

"To keep the vermin away," she groaned, just barely waking up.

"What does that mean?" he asked, yanking off his tie and jacket before sitting by her legs.

"Not tonight," she sighed, not wanting to see his reaction to the sudden return of her mother. "I just want to slip into bed next to you and fall asleep."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," he said, slipping off his coat and tie. "Did you already eat then, because...?" he trailed off as he held up the white plastic bag of takeaway.

Feeling most of the tension from seeing her mother ease out of her body at the sight of him coming home to her with dinner, Bonnie smiled and said, "I'm actually quite starved – for dinner and other things."

Smirking at her implication, he started setting out their dinner.

* * *

Ellie was sitting on the stairs with Chloe for hours, as day turned to night, after the midwife arrived to help Beth. But Mark wasn't yet. He hadn't even answered any of their calls.

"You can go," Chloe said quietly.

Ellie shook her head, "It's all right. I'll wait with you. Did you phone your dad?"

Chloe shrugged, "Yeah, no answer. Will she be all right?" She would flinch every time they heard Beth's shouts.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. This is what it's like, it just takes a while," Ellie reassured her.

"Argh!" They heard Beth cry out as the midwife coached her.

Chloe turned to look at Ellie, "Did you really not know? About Joe and Danny?"

Ellie looked at her and softly said, "No. I'd have done something."

Chloe slowly nodded, finally accepting that they couldn't hold Ellie accountable for Joe's actions. "How do you live with it?"

"Don't have a choice. Like any of us," Ellie admitted.

Beth let out a big yell as they heard the front door open. Chloe quickly stood up to lean over the stairs railing and demand, "Where have you been?"

Mark looked up startled to see that she was still awake so late, "Chloe, what are you doing up?" He started making his way up the stairs but stopped short when he saw Ellie still seated on the stairs by Chloe's feet, "What are you doing here?" Another cry from Beth in the birthing room made him curse, "Oh, bloody hell," and race into the room.

They could hear Beth screaming at him, "Where have you been?"

"I'm here. I'm here take my hand."

* * *

Ellie decided to step outside to call and see if Hardy had tracked down Claire after all. She was slightly relieved when he said he successfully kicked Lee out of Claire's house, even if the murder suspect knew where she lived now. "Okay, well, at least she is safe. What are you gonna do now?"

At his house, Alec took the call outside while Bonnie busied herself with moving boxes out of the way in the living room. "I dunno. Claire wouldn't talk to me. I'm gonna need you to talk to her."

Ellie looked into the Latimer house, "That can wait. Beth's just had her baby. Little girl."

The mention of the baby made Alec look into the window doors of the house, watch Bonnie yawn adorably into her hand. "Oh, that's nice. Tell 'em... congratulations."

"Yeah. I'll see you at the court."

"Yeah, okay," he said as he hung up and walked into the house again. "I think it's time for bed."

She gave him a look, "Alec Hardy is conceding to normal human tiredness?"

He narrowed his eyes at her playfully – or as playful as Alec Hardy could be – and said, "I'm getting old."

She rolled her eyes as they walked into the bedroom to ready for the night. "You're not that old. You make yourself sound like Scrooge when you say it like that."

"I've been called worse," he joked as they started changing. "But you can't deny the facts, love. I'm over a decade older than you and it shows. I've got it all – heart problems, aching bones, impending retirement."

Bonnie took him by the collar of the T-shirt she'd gotten him and maneuvered so he was sitting at the foot of the bed. She sat astride his lap and held his chin in her fingers gently, "First of all, you say _over_ a decade like our age difference is closer to twenty years than ten, we're _eleven_ years apart, that's nothing. Second, you don't look as old as you think you do so it doesn't show. I just look more youthful than I really am. Third, your issues have nothing to do with age. Your heart problems came from stress of your very high-stress job. Your aching bones? Also, a result of your previously active career in the police. An impressive career despite your condition. And it's all of that that puts you on the road to retirement right now. Not your age."

"Do you want kids?"

She was startled to say the least. She had expected him to say something contrite and self-deprecating, even slightly spiteful that he would apologize for immediately. Or some lame joke about the length of her speech about his age. She hadn't expected him to ask about children.

"Excuse me?"

"Kids," he repeated. "Do you want them? We've never talked about that, I don't think. But now, you're living here, I believe we're pretty serious. Calls for a conversation, don't you think?"

"I think you made a little jump between conversations here, honey," she said, slightly teasing. "What made you ask that?"

He sighed, "Miller told me that Beth had her baby tonight – a little girl."

Bonnie glowed, "Aw, that's amazing. I'll have to look in on her after court tomorrow." He nodded along but she knew there was more to it, "And that led you to asking me about children?"

He nodded, "She told me and the first thing I thought of was you – us. And, you're the one who talks about the future, takes the initiative. Because I'm a bit of spoiled goods, aren't I? I've been married. I have my daughter. You're still fresh for the world."

"I get it," she realized out loud. "You're worried. Because you don't know if you want more kids other than Daisy, you perceive yourself as too old to start with a baby. And you're worried your feelings on the subject might force me to give up something – something _big_ – in order to be with you. And you don't perceive yourself as worthy of that kind of sacrifice."

He looked at her for a short while before saying, "I thought I was the detective?"

She gave him a look, "I still have intuition. You know you don't have to worry."

"So, you don't – want kids that is?" he slightly stammered.

"I never gave myself the option," she explained. "Since I was young, since I started seeing what I see. I just forced myself to accept the fact that I wasn't meant to have kids whether I wanted them or not."

He slowly nodded along, "You don't want to pass it on..."

She nodded. "I was terrorized by seeing what I can see growing up. And sure, maybe it would have been better with someone other than my mother raising me with it. But I didn't want to burden any child I might have with the same things that plague me, that I moved out of here to get away from. I briefly thought about adoption when I was still at university but decided I wouldn't do that without a partner and never met anyone I could see a future with – until now. And now so much time has passed, I haven't thought of having kids of my own in a long while."

"I understand," he said. "I don't bring it up because I'm all that opposed. I haven't thought of more kids or marriage since my divorce from Tess. I'm the grouchy DI with a defective heart. I never thought I'd find someone I could do all that with again."

"And yet, here I am," she grinned, shuffling closer to him in his lap and giving him a slow kiss. "I love you, Alec. And I can't deny the little butterflies in my stomach at you talking about a future with me so openly. But please don't think you _have_ to have children with me to have me stay with you. Whether we have children together or get married or any of that, I want to be with you. I want a future with you, and whatever comes with you. You don't have to worry about giving me everything you think I might have to give up otherwise to be with you." She slightly pushed him back until he laid back on the bed, "Do we understand?"

He let out a little grunt as he encased her hips in his hands, "I think I can at least table this discussion for another time."

She giggled breathlessly as she started kissing his neck and tug his shirt off of his body. "Show me how old you think you are..."

She was startled and let out a squeal when he suddenly flipped her onto her back and climbed on top of her as he pushed her nightgown up her legs. When she let out little gasps and mewls as he reached down and stroked her into readiness, he felt himself suppressing little shudders. He was still boggled in the head when he thought about how he's been lucky enough to be with her. To get a woman so mystical and open to want to be with his grouchy self. And to be able to make her happy when he failed to do so with Tess. In a way he never thought he would be able to do for anyone.

When he thrust inside of her and she held him tight, he felt like a brand-new person. Without the baggage and insecurities that weighed him down every day he was breathing in Broadchurch. He was twice as satisfied hearing her noises that egged him on as he moved within her than he could possibly get from just the sensation of being inside her.

Making love with Alec, for Bonnie, was confirmation of every thought she'd every had about him since meeting him. Seeing him at his most unguarded, was like peeling back the layers of former DI Alec Hardy and just getting the bare man that loved her and gave to her and didn't expect anything in return – simply accepted what she had to give back. It made her love him more each and every time. Especially since they had yet to try a position when they weren't facing each other. He looked into her eyes, even if they got glazed over or unfocused at times. He was always looking at her and seeing her as he made love to her and gave himself over to her.

And of course, she enjoyed the sensation of being filled, feeling that primal heat rising inside of her. That little windup that wound and wound and wound in her gut was just about to explode when he leaned down to kiss her, still moving but almost resting his whole weight on top of her. He poured everything into his kiss, like he did with every kiss he ever gave her – even the shortest ones. He said everything he was too guarded to say out loud with words.

She finally felt that wound up coil snap inside of her and her whole body exploded into tingles and stars, like she was outside of herself. He was still moving inside of her as she came undone underneath him, kissing her and egging her on into her aftermath until he finally let go as well, spilling everything he had, all of his energy and spirit into her. Until his whole weight was on her and they had to turn together to lay side by side, smiling into each other's eyes.

* * *

 **There's the first altercation between Bonnie and her mum. And a very serious conversation between Bon and Alec about their future... hmm...**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	5. Chapter 5: Lizzie

**Sorry it's been so long for this update! My computer stopped charging so I had to take it in for repairs. But I had everything backed up and hopped onto a relative's computer to post. Enjoy!**

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

LIZZIE

In the morning, Bonnie actually smiled when she heard the sound of the waves lulling her out of sleep. She slightly frowned when she saw the empty side of the bed, but as usual he was up earlier than her. She got up and slipped into a sweater dress and padded in her bare feet to the front of the house where he was predictably sitting on the front steps with an open file, papers, and photos laid out.

She made to sit down next to him when she noticed one of the photos was of the blonde girl she had seen following Alec around when they first met. She knelt down next to him as he was telling her, "Good morning, love."

"Alec."

The tone in her voice made him turn over his attention to her very serious face. "What is it?"

She pointed to the photo of the blonde girl and said, "That's her. The girl I saw following you around when you first came out to Broadchurch."

"That is Lisa Newbury," he said with a dumbfounded slack jaw. "She's been officially missing since we found her cousin Pippa."

"She's not missing, Alec," she responded slowly. "She's dead. I'm sorry."

He let out a harsh sigh and put his arm around her shoulders, "It's all right. I knew he couldn't be keeping her somewhere." He gave her a curious look, "Is she... all right? I mean to say – she's not suffering anymore?"

Bonnie gave him a soft smile and took his hand that rested on her shoulder, "I haven't seen her since before you arrested Joe. But when I did, she was always very peaceful, and I could tell that she cared about you and your well-being. You know what that tells me?"

He pursed his lips at her, "What?"

"It tells me that she knows the truth of what happened with the trial at Sandbrook," she told him. "She knows you did nothing wrong. That it wasn't your fault. And she doesn't blame you."

He didn't verbally respond, just turned his attention back to the file. He wondered if what she said was true. With a small breath, he pulled out a small photo of little Pippa and held it out to her, "Have you ever seen her?"

Bonnie took the photo and studied it. The girl was smiling, sweet looking, with long dark hair and freckles on her nose. "No, I've never seen her before. She probably already moved on. Sometimes kids move on quickly when they didn't experience too much trauma. It's easier on them. I think it's because they're more innocent."

He made a non-committal sound as he gathered his things and brought them back into the house before he started getting ready. He moved quickly, wanting to be in court promptly. "What are you going to do today since you know you're not going to be called?"

"Work," she replied simply. "I have a couple second interviews with people, including discussing the lease on the apartment. It should be pretty straightforward. Hopefully, I'll be able to decide on who to hire and Denise will be able to move on not worrying that she's leaving me in a lurch. Beth will still come in as well after she's recovered from birth a little more."

"Right," he murmured. "Do you want to meet Daisy?"

A bit startled, she turned to him and just said with a smile, "Of course. She seems like a lovely girl. Were you thinking of skype or in person?"

"Depends on how things go," he said. "If I can get her on the phone for more than five minutes."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "Don't worry. You'll talk to her, we'll all meet up some time, and I am sure we'll all get along."

They both wished each other to have good days before shoving off. Alec climbed into a cab for the courthouse while Bonnie jumped on her bike to wheel herself down to her store. She was biking passed the Trader's Hotel and Becca waved at her with a big smile, "Good morning, Bon! I've just met your mum. Very lively gal, ain't she?"

Bonnie almost toppled off of her bike as she stopped short in front of the hotel owner and said, "Wait, what? She's staying at your place?"

Becca grew confused, "Um, yes. You two look alike. Beautiful."

"Listen, Becca," Bonnie started, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her anything about me. We're not close. We're the opposite of close. I don't want her feeling welcome to hang around and mess with my good life here. You understand, please?"

Becca looked startled, but still nodded. Who was she to pry into Bonnie's life with her shoddy past? "Of course. Strictly hotel business. I'll let you know when she's checked out?"

Bonnie shrugged and started walking her bike across the street, "She's been checked out for years." She quickly set to work, getting ready for her second interviews. One of which was a lovely young woman named Megan who wanted to look at the apartment as well. She was working diligently when alone at first when the bell rang, and she looked up to see a tall, lanky pale man with dark hair walking in. He seemed to smirk a little when he saw her before he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for the Echo. It used to be next door, right?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded, "They've downsized recently to a new location. If you go down the street and keep right, you'll find it a block back from the water on your left."

"Brilliant," he smiled. He cast a glance around, "This looks like a nice place. I'm headed to the paper to put in an ad for handy man work. So... let me know if you need any help around here."

"If I dare go to another handyman I think I'll be condemned to Hell for an eternity," she said with a kind smile back to him. "But I'm sure plenty of people around here with hire out your help. Pass on my good mornings to the Echo."

"Right..." he muttered, sort of lingering in the empty doorway until one of the teenagers who worked at the bookstore awkwardly made their way in for their shift. Bonnie didn't like the way he seemed to look at her as he left.

* * *

"Is that the phone the defendant was holding on the day you arrested him?" Jocelyn asked as Alec was presented with a plastic bag containing the mobile phone he'd arrested Joe with.

He nodded, answering to her and the jury members, "Yes. It belonged to Danny Latimer. Danny had two phones. This one was given to him by Mr. Miller."

"What did you discover from the call history on that phone?" Jocelyn asked.

"Only one number had ever called or sent texts to Danny's phone. A mobile number belonging to Mr. Miller," Alec stated.

"When you took possession of Mr. Miller's computer, did you find further evidence of communication between the defendant and Danny Latimer?"

"We found an email account under a false name. Only used to send emails to Danny," Alec spoke, hoping beyond hope that the jury would see what he already knew. He was trying to keep it to the facts.

Jocelyn turned her attention to the jury as Alec was handed a stack of papers, "You're being handed an exhibit. Exhibit MJC735 from your jury bundles. Could you confirm that these are printouts of the emails sent from this account?"

"I can," he said as he fished on his glasses.

"And would you read the email sent to Danny Latimer on the 29th of May?"

Beth and Mark flinched in pain as they listened to him read the emails. "'Great seeing you last night. Sorry things aren't going well at home. Wanna meet again Thursday? It can stay between us.'" There was no other way for that to sound worse.

"And on the 25th of June, from Danny to the defendant?"

"'Why does nobody understand me like you do? Have a great holiday. I miss you.'"

"Thank you."

Once Jocelyn took a seat, Sharon stood with no ceremony and said, "And the transcript of 16 May, please."

As Alec stared at the words, he chewed them out reluctantly, "'I know your dad will be sorry for hitting you. You can talk to me any time.'" These words made Mark want to die.

Sharon was smirking on the inside, "What evidence do you have to prove that Mr. Miller was using his phone at the time the calls and messages were sent?"

"They were sent from his private number," Alec answered her, knowing where she was going.

"Someone else could have picked up the phone and used it," she pointed out.

Alec spoke as calmly as he could, "We believe it was Mr. Miller."

She gave him a look, peering up through her forehead, "You believe rather than you are able to prove?"

He cleared his throat, "Phone mast records have placed the phone at Mr. Miller's house."

"The computer with the email account used to correspond with Danny, was that a private computer?" she asked, her eyes averted as if she were speaking to an audience.

"It was Mr. Miller's home computer," he spoke carefully. He didn't want her seeding in the doubt that she was trying to. It was making him angry just thinking about her spinning some tale rather than helping the justice system get something right.

"It was the family computer, wasn't it?" she emphasized.

"Yes."

"Was it password protected?"

He answered quickly so she couldn't interrupt, "No, but we believe Mr. Miller was the main user of the computer."

"But not the sole user because it was the family computer. Accessible to anyone who lived in or visited the house," she illustrated.

"Well, I doubt the baby used it," he joked in a deadpan voice.

The jury did let out some chuckled, but the Judge didn't seem amused. "I'm not keen on sarcasm, DI Hardy. Stick to the facts, please."

"Course, my lady," he said.

Sharon looked at him as if she were scolding him, "Mr. Miller's wife, DS Ellie Miller, an investigating officer, also had access to the computer long before it was seized, didn't she?"

And this was the doubt she was trying to seed into reality, "Yes, but-"

"So, anyone living in that house including Mr. Miller's wife, your colleague, would have been able to use the computer right up until the time of Mr. Miller's arrest. Yes or no?" she powered through his speaking.

"Yes."

It was like that word was a nail in Ellie's coffin as Sharon said, "Thank you," looking very pleased with herself.

Once he was free to leave the courtroom, he stormed out, passed Ellie sitting outside, "Those barristers, who are they? They've never done anything of worth. They are just sniping."

"What's been going on in there?" Ellie asked as she quickly got up to follow after him.

"The whole system stinks. This is how people like Ashworth get let off while decent people get aspersions cast on them," he ranted on more.

"Aspersions about who?"

He sobered up, "I can't. Not till you've given evidence."

Ellie blanched, "Shut up, then. You're making me nervous."

"I need you to be Claire's best friend right now. Otherwise Ashworth will work his way back in. Find out is he contacting her or she him. Are you listening?" he rattled off at her.

They paused when they noticed one of their PCs at the top of the stairs. Ellie greeted him, "Bob. What are you doing here?"

He looked awkward, "I'm not here for that." He looked at Hardy, "There's been an allegation made against you, sir. For harassment, from a Lee Ashworth. Said you imprisoned, illegally recorded and physically attacked him. You need to come with me."

* * *

"I can't believe you are making me do this," Alec hissed as he and PC Bob trekked through the grass towards Lee as he hammered in posts for a fence in his tank top.

"It's this or internal affairs," Bob said as they met with Lee. "It's a fraught time for everyone at the moment. See if we can work this one out."

Lee leisurely smoked a cigarette out of the side of his mouth, "He took me to a house, recorded me in private, then tracked me down and attacked me."

Alec glared at him, "You attacked me."

Lee looked at Bob, "See? This is what he's like."

Bob turned to Alec, "What have you got to say for yourself?"

Rather reluctantly, Alec spoke in measured tones, "I'm under a lot of pressure currently. With the court case. I should not have done what I did."

Bob nodded, satisfied, "Okay."

"Say sorry," Lee cut in unexpectedly.

Alec gaped, "What?"

Lee blew out a puff of smoke at him, "Say... sorry."

With clenched teeth, he did what he had to do, "I'm sorry."

"What's that?" Lee leaned in closer mockingly.

"I'm sorry. I apologize for any error of judgment," Alec ground the words out.

"Right, so we'll say no more about this," Bob quickly lead Alec away towards his car. "Are you coming?"

"I'm gonna walk," he snarled and continued out the path.

"Suit yourself."

Alec loped as he walked, breathing heavily. He needed to get this all done. He needed to solve Sandbrook, he needed Joe to go to jail. He needed it all to be over. He needed to enjoy life.

* * *

Bonnie walked leisurely to the Latimer household once she was able to hand over operations to Denise. She had met with Megan and shown her the apartment. She and the younger woman had gotten along so well that she hired her on the spot. Megan was very excited to take the apartment and practically run the store for her. But Bonnie was still lost on what she really wanted to do with the free time it would give her. Should she really settle for substitute teaching? Or should she try to finish her teaching credentials? Or should she do something entirely different? She didn't know.

Paul was being walked out by Mark when she ambled down the walk up to their front door. Things seemed tense there, but Mark had been tense with anything religious since Danny died. But Mark smiled when he saw her, "Hello there Bon," as Paul bid her adieu on his way out.

"Hello there, how's the new mum again?" Bonnie smiled as she walked in to see Beth cuddled on the couch with a little baby girl in her arms.

Beth seemed completely at ease for the first time since Danny died. "Hey."

Bonnie took a seat next to her, "What's the cutie's name? She's beautiful."

"Thank you," Beth smiled. "We're calling her Lizzie. For my mum."

"I'm sure Liz would be thrilled," Bonnie said, stroking the infant's back.

"Would you like to hold her?" Beth asked, already holding the baby out to her.

Bonnie accepted Lizzie with ease, holding her close and secure as the baby made sighing noises. She loved the feeling of the little being in her arms, "She's so precious."

"Look at you," Beth said quietly, looking at her friend with a smile, "you're a natural. It's a shame you don't have any of your own." Bonnie grimaced, and so did Beth immediately after saying it. "Oh, damn, Bon. I'm sorry. I haven't got my brain back yet."

"It's okay," Bonnie quickly reassured her, cuddling baby Lizzie. "I actually have been giving it some thought. I don't know about the biological aspect yet. But with Alec in my life, there are other ways to possibly have a family of my own. Alec actually brought the subject up himself the other night."

Beth's eyes widened comically, "What?"

Bonnie nodded with a blush and abashed smile of her own, "Yeah. Totally took me by surprise. I think he's worried that I really want kids, and he isn't sure if he wants more. He has a teenager he doesn't get to see much already."

"Well, that would be something to worry about, wouldn't it?" Beth mused aloud, glad to have something else to talk about other than the baby's sleep schedule or the trial.

Bonnie nodded, "He doesn't want me to give something up to be with him. He doesn't think he'd be worth it. But he also said he's not opposed."

"To another child?" Beth questioned.

"I think so," Bonnie said as she cradled Lizzie in her arms. "He's always been concerned with how older he is than I am. He's felt like sloppy seconds or something since he's already been a husband and father and he's kind of starting over with me now, and I haven't done the marriage or kids part of life before."

"If he feels like that, then why'd he even bring it up?" Beth asked curiously, settling into the cushions of the couch more to relax while Bonnie held her daughter. "You've been together less than a year. No offense."

Bonnie cooed as Lizzie gurgled on the inner crease of her elbow. "Ellie called, mentioned that you had Lizzie. Got him thinking, I guess."

"Wow," Beth murmured. "He's never seemed the type to open up those kinds of conversations."

"He surprises even me sometimes when he does," Bonnie smiled, thinking of him. "It was him who asked me to move in with him."

Beth's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, "Get out! I almost forget you're moving in with the grumpy DI!"

Bonnie blushed, "Actually, I've just finished moving myself in. I've hired Denise's replacement and she's going to start a lease on the apartment. I've never been certain about these kinds of things – relationships, futures. I had nothing but poor examples from my parents' relationship. But I'm certain about him."

"That's lovely," Beth patted her baby's head with a smile. "We owe him a lot. If things don't go completely wrong in court, we'll get justice because of him."

"Things will go just right in court," Bonnie assured her. "No one in this town is going to let him get away with what he's done."

Beth watched her friend handle her baby and smiled, "I think you'll make a great mum."

* * *

"There you go, ladies."

Ellie couldn't believe she was at a bar with Claire Ashworth. Lights were flickering all over the place and it was playing some standard pop song she'd never heard of. Luckily the other people were age appropriate and she didn't feel like somebody's mum.

Claire had no reservations as she took her drink, "Whoo!"

"I haven't been out drinking in Weymouth for years. Like a teenager," Ellie remarked, leaning against the bar.

"Tell me about court," Claire requested, spinning her straw in her fruity beverage.

Ellie sighed as she took another sip, "I have to sit there waiting. I'm not allowed to be told what is happening, so I keep looking at people's faces trying to read clues. I just keep thinking of Joe, my husband sitting there in the dock. It's just... just a nightmare, it won't stop."

Claire frowned, "I'm so sorry." She took another drink and asked more lightly, "Was it always Joe? Or did you ever have a thing for someone else?"

Ellie turned to the bar thoughtfully, "There was this bloke at work once. Years back. I really fancied him." She smiled remembering the moment the meet and how happy and peaceful he'd made her feel, how comfortable. "No, it wasn't that. I really wanted to marry him. I just knew first time we met, bam, really strong."

"So, why didn't you?" Claire asked almost frustrated.

But Ellie shrugged, "He was ten years older than me. Already had a wife."

Claire frowned, "Did you ever tell him?"

She shook her head, "No. I nearly told him at his leaving do. But I thought, what's the point?" She paused as she remembered his last day, fondly. "Funny thing was as he was leaving that night last thing he did, turned around and looked at me and he gave me this smile. Of all the people in there he turned, and he looked at me. I think about that quite a lot now."

"Why didn't you do something?" Claire asked, sounding exasperated, as if it was her own failing.

She shrugged again, "Just what happens, isn't it? Life sweeps by, and before you know what is going on, it's too late."

Claire smacked the bar and declared, "I need the loo," before wondering off towards the back of the bar.

As soon as the other woman was out of the way, Ellie started digging into her coat thrown over the chair and pulled out her mobile. She searched through her contacts and recent calls, taking them down in her own phone, before looking at her search history. It was all about Lee and the Sandbrook case. She quickly replaced the mobile back in the pocket, cursing when she almost dropped it to the ground before shooting back up in time for Claire to return.

The woman was none the wiser as she gave Ellie a secretive smile and whispered to her, "Um... Two blokes eyeing us up over my left shoulder."

"No," Ellie couldn't believe it, but followed Claire's head nod to two men standing at another table and checking them out rather obviously. Ellie led out an incredulous, "Oh, my god, you're right."

"Which one do you prefer?" Claire asked with a salacious smirk.

Ellie gaped and shook her head, "No, I can't. I've never done that before."

"Listen," Claire took her hand, "The world is screwing you over right now. You owe yourself something. When was the last time you had sex?"

* * *

Alec was just getting home and settling into his living around what was left of Bonnie's boxes on the floor when he looked out to see Lee Ashworth loitering outside. He got up to open the door. "We've got nothing more to say."

"I've got plenty to tell you," Lee stepped in with a bag of folders and papers that he pulled out and slapped on the table. "Notes, interviews, people's movements on that night. I knew you'd never want to clear my name, so I started working on it myself. Talking to people."

"And they spoke to you?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, I told 'em I was you," Lee replied.

Alec stopped short, "What?"

Lee only looked smug, "Yeah. I know what it's like to be you now. Suspicious all the time. Must be really... eating away at you. Especially when you are wrong." He spoke slowly and lowly, taunting Alec with every word.

"I should charge you with impersonating a police officer," Alec threatened. But not wanting to make a mess, he simply goaded the other man. "Go on, then."

Lee opened a file and held it out to him. It was information on Pippa and Lisa's fathers – brothers. "Ricky and David Gillespie. Dads of the two girls. Two dads, two brothers. You barely even looked at them."

"I did," Hardy contradicted him.

"Not far enough," Lee insisted. "Lisa told me Ricky made a move on her driving her home after baby-sitting."

"Made a pass at his niece?" Alec questioned.

Lee handed him another file, "What about this guy seen hanging around the estate?"

"Never even proved he existed," Alec argued with him. He knew Lee would do anything to pushed suspicion off of him.

"Reported by four separate women," Lee insisted.

"None of this is new," Alec pointed out, tossing the file back on the table.

Lee stared at him, eerily quiet now. "Why would I kill a 12-year-old girl?"

Alec stared right back. "Why was her pendant found in your vehicle?"

"We used to give her a lift to school, as a favor to Cate. So, it must have come off then," Lee explained.

Alec wasn't put off a bit. "She was wearing it the day she died."

Lee backed away, "You missed things."

Alec pointed to the door. "You need to go. Go on. Get out."

Lee pointed to the filed, "Look at that stuff. Look at the Gillespies. Look at that bloke hanging around the estate."

As Lee was making his way through the door, Alec made him pause when he asked, "Why did you send Claire a bluebell?"

Lee looked genuinely taken aback by the question, "What? How'd I do that from France? Do bluebells even grow in France?"

* * *

Ellie felt empty inside late into the night, watching her 'date' from the bar slink off to his car from the window of the guest room in Claire's house. She couldn't believe that she had asked him to say he loved her in the middle of it. Luckily, he hadn't heard her, way more concerned with his own pleasure than taking notes. He had been done with it all before she even felt a tingle, just frustration.

She was sitting up in her little bed when Claire peaked in with a couple mugs in her hand, whispering, "Hi."

"Hey. He's just gone," she whispered back.

"Lucky. Mine is still snoring." They shared a chuckle as Claire climbed into the bed with her and handed her the other mug of tea, "Here you are. Feel better?"

Ellie sighed, "No, it just sobered me up." She took a grateful sip of her tea and set it on the window sill before turning back to Claire who had laid down, "Claire, what happened that night?"

"I don't know," Claire tried to say.

"Claire."

Claire frowned into her tea, "Lee drugged me. He used to have that stuff Rohypnol. Got a little bottle off someone and he drugged me, and I woke up halfway through the night."

Ellie frowned at her, "That isn't what you told the police."

Claire tapped her fingernails against the mug, "No. I can just feel myself being pulled back into him, now that he's back..."

"Claire, tell me the truth. Where were you both the night those girls disappeared?"

"He drugged me. I woke up at 5:00am. He was cleaning. He was cleaning the whole house."

* * *

 **Things are moving along. I'll reward your patience with quicker updates now that my ducks are in a row.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	6. Chapter 6: Crook

CHAPTER SIX

CROOK

It was dark when Bonnie wheeled her bike to the house and set it against the door before walking in as Alec was changing. She gave him a kiss, "How was it today?"

"Same as always, bloody awful," he cursed. "That damn woman is trying to twist everything around in his favor. And who knows with a jury trial if she'll succeed?"

"Joe won't go free," Bonnie said resolutely. "No matter what."

"I wish I had your optimism, love," he said, settling into the bed. "These things drag on forever it seems, and they dig everything up that we try to bury when we make the arrest. Without the confession, I honestly don't know what will happen."

"These people are supposed to be competent members of society," Bonnie cupped his cheek. "I have to believe that they will see the truth no matter what that woman tries to put in their heads."

Once they were both ready for bed, they slid into the blankets and Alec wrapped his arm around her as she pressed her face into his chest. After a moment of silence, she whispered in the dark bedroom, "Did you mean it when you said you weren't all that opposed to idea of another child?"

His hand stroking her arm froze for a moment. "I guess so. I only started thinking about the subject last night."

"Me as well," she murmured. "A bit more so after I went to see Beth and the baby."

"Those maternal instincts kicking in?" he asked, not knowing how he definitively thought about having another family. An expanded family.

"Maybe," she cuddled into him. "I guess all the thoughts about kids and stuff that I put out of my mind for years are flooding me now that I've given myself permission to think about it."

"So, you do want them?" he asked. "Children?"

She turned her head to look at him, "There's a difference between knowing that I want children or knowing that I don't not want them? Does that make sense?"

He looked back at her, "I've gotten used to the way you think. But to be clear, I really don't think I'm opposed. It doesn't make sense. I'm probably too old, we've been together less than a year-"

"None of that matters," she softly cut him off, rubbing her thumb soothingly across his chest. "You're not too old to have a family however we choose to. It's not like we have to start trying right now. And the time we've been together makes little difference to me. Like I told Beth before, I am certain about you. About you being in my life, now and in the future." She leaned up on her elbow to look over him, her hair caressing the sides of his face. "I love you. Whether our future includes children, or it doesn't for whatever reason. I don't have anything definite in mind right now. But I definitely think that I want to keep talking with you about it. And I don't think we should make a decision until after the trial is over and the chips have fallen and settled. You know, don't make decisions after life changing things happen and all that."

He reached up to cup her face, "We'll just keep discussing it until we've both made up our minds."

She leaned her head down to kiss him, "I love you."

He kissed her back, "I love you too."

* * *

"Rohypnol? Definitely Rohypnol?" Alec questioned at a table with Ellie outside the courtroom. Ellie had taken Claire out for drinks the night before and was subsequently nursing a hangover now.

"Yeah. She woke up to see him cleaning."

"She never said any of that before," he mused.

She scoffed at him, "Why are you such a fuckwit about this?

"Sorry?" he asked.

"She was next door," she said. "She had access. Her story is inconsistent. This woman you're protecting is a suspect."

"I know," he revealed.

She gaped at him, "What? You told me you'd been protecting her."

"I was keeping her safe, so she didn't abscond," he piled on.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she glared at him now.

"I needed to know if I was going mad. I wanted someone to look at it objectively," he reasoned with her.

"For god's sake."

Hardy straightened up when he noticed Jocelyn approaching them. "Uh-oh, Miller. This could be you."

"You're going to be called," Jocelyn spoke solemnly.

Ellie nodded, "Right, okay, I've done it before."

Jocelyn didn't lose an ounce of her grave demeanor, "Not like this. Stay calm, stick to the facts. Don't get drawn into anything else. Don't get emotional."

"I know."

* * *

Bonnie knew her good mood due to her and Alec's ongoing conversations on the future would pop like a bubble when she saw Marge in front of her store. "I thought I made things clear last time you intruded into my life."

"Honey, I just want to talk," Marge tried to appear sympathetic and demure as she stood out of the way, so Bonnie could unlock the front door. "I want to make amends."

"I've heard that before," Bonnie said as she let herself into the store and turned the sign over to open. "And I'm not interested in hearing anything more from you."

"Please just hear me out. I'm your mother!" Marge beseeched her, following her into the store.

"That doesn't mean anything to me anymore," Bonnie said in a hard voice. "My being your daughter meant jack shit to you with the way you treated me growing up."

"I was a good mother," Marge said with a wagging scolding finger. "I provided for you – a home, a good education, a bright future in the family business!"

"Oh, please!" Bonnie scoffed. "You didn't provide anything for me. Dad and his life insurance did. Thank God he created a trust fund for me, otherwise you would have wasted all the money meant to go to my schooling. And you never so much as helped me with my homework let alone contributed in any way towards my education. And there was no family business. You're a crook."

"You of all people know that my gift is genuine," Marge said seriously.

"You and I both know that you exaggerate your abilities for monetary gain," Bonnie said as she started setting out chairs that were overturned on the table-tops. "You can't call spirits back to communicate with them once they've already moved on. I used to watch you – I knew you were lying! And I felt guilty as Hell every time I didn't call you out on it."

"It is possible if they've simply faded, not moved on," Marge smirked. "You can call them back. Talk to them in a meditative state. They're willing to do anything to earn them a place back in limbo."

Bonnie held up her hand to halt her mother's talking, "I said I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I never wanted to see you again. But I guess you never really cared what I wanted before. Who are you to let a silly thing like my wishes and a restraining order stop you? A restraining order I will be re-filing with the police here."

Marge gave her a condescending look, "I understand that we haven't seen each other in a long time and you need time to adjust. It will take time to repair our relationship."

"We have no relationship," Bonnie said as she set down the last chair. "Now, get out of my store before I call the cops. I'm friends with all of them, you won't be able to spin a lie to get out of trouble here."

"I'll go – for now," Marge said. "But we need to discuss the next book. Our audience is eagerly awaiting the tale of our reunion."

"There'll be no book about me again or I will sue you," Bonnie pointed to the door. "Out."

Marge silently made her way to the door, leaving Bonnie to heave out the deep breath she'd been holding in between sentences. She couldn't believe the sheer arrogance that woman had. She really hoped she didn't have to blow up her life once more because her mother didn't care what she actually wanted.

* * *

"Take the book in your right hand. And read from the card."

Ellie took a deep breath on the stand as she recited, "I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Police Constable 516, Ellie Miller, attached to Exeter Police Traffic Division, formerly Detective Sergeant attached to Broadchurch CID."

Jocelyn kept to the facts, "How long have you been married to the defendant, Mrs. Miller?"

"12 years." Ellie kept thinking about what Jocelyn said. Stay calm. Keep to the facts. Don't get emotional.

"You have two children, correct?"

"Yes, Tom is 13 and huge and Fred is nearly two," Ellie answered.

"Was it a mutual decision to have children?"

Ellie shuffled on her feet, "I was probably keener, but Joe went along with it."

"What sort of relationship did you have with your husband?"

Ellie held in her emotions as well as she could, "Good. I went to work, and he looked after the kids. I loved him."

"How would you describe your relationship with Mark and Beth Latimer?"

Ellie tried to keep from averting her eyes to Beth and Mark in their seats. "We were good friends. Beth and I were in the same NCT group. We had Sunday lunches together. Our boys, Danny and Tom were best friends."

"How curious was your husband about how the investigation was proceeding?"

"Err... on the day Danny's body was found, he asked if we knew who did it," Ellie told them.

"Was he interested in forensic evidence?"

"When we found the crime scene he wanted to know what we'd discovered," Ellie said.

"Had he demonstrated any interest in forensic evidence prior to this case?"

"He knew a bit about it because of his job as a paramedic. He'd been called to a few crime scenes. He knew how evidence was gathered and what made it easy or difficult," she explained, looking between Jocelyn and the jury members.

"Have you had any contact with Mr. Miller since the day of his arrest?"

"No."

"Did you at any time suspect that your husband was involved in the killing of Danny?"

Her eyes welled with tears. "I didn't. Now, I wish I had."

"Why did you attack him, your husband, in the interview room after his arrest?" Jocelyn asked, kindly.

"Because the man I trusted most in the world had killed the son of our best friend," Ellie told her.

"So, you attacked him not as a policewoman attacking a suspect, but as a wife confronting her husband?" Jocelyn asked to make her own point.

"Yes. The police had nothing to do with it. It was about him and me," Ellie ascertained.

"Thank you, PC Miller. I understand how difficult this must be for you," Jocelyn said to conclude her questioning.

"It is," Ellie whispered, letting some more tears well in her eyes. "It is horrific."

Sharon showed no sympathy – even for show – as she stood to begin her own line of questioning, "How was your sex life, PC Miller?"

Ellie was startled. Both at the question and the emphases on her demoted title. "I dunno, normal. How would you describe yours?"

Sharon regarded her with humor, "Not frequent enough to be honest. But I'm not in the box."

The Judge gave her a look, "Quite, Miss Bishop."

Sharon waved defensively before turning back to Ellie, "Did you engage in S&M? Bondage? Torture fantasies? Violent roleplay?"

"No, nothing like that," Ellie answered evenly.

"Did your husband use pornography?" Sharon asked.

"No. Apart from one time his mate gave him a DVD. We watched it together and we mostly laughed through it," Ellie almost flinched reliving the once happy – now tainted – memory.

"Did it involve children?"

Ellie gritted her teeth, "No."

"Gay pornography?"

"No."

"Did he show a predilection for images of children?" Sharon asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Ellie said.

"Did you either as a wife or a police officer ever discover images of children in your husband's possession?"

She had to chant in her head to keep calm. "No."

"Would you say that you are a good police officer?"

She wondered when Sharon would start attacking her character and competency, "I get the job done."

"I think you're being modest. Until recently, you'd been on a rather strong career path, hadn't you?" Sharon said condescendingly.

"I did my best."

"And yet as a police officer, you didn't detect any suspicious behavior from your husband?" Sharon asked her.

Ellie sighed, "None."

"You didn't spot any such behaviors because your husband didn't kill Danny, did he?" Sharon misconstrued purposely.

"He did kill Danny. He's not the person I thought he was," Ellie insisted.

"Are you talking as a wife or as a police officer now?" Sharon mocked her.

"Both," Ellie chewed the words out.

"Did you take a sleeping pill on the night of Danny Latimer's death?" Sharon switched directions.

"Yes, I get terrible jet lag. I have them prescribed," Ellie explained.

"You didn't wake up until the next morning, is that correct?" Sharon questioned.

"That's right," Ellie nodded.

"So, as far as you were concerned the next morning he'd been there all night," Sharon speculated.

"That's what I thought at the time and it turns out not to have been true. Joe knew I'd taken the pills. He must have planned to meet Danny accordingly," Ellie speculated right back.

"Do you actually know of such a plan?" Sharon asked, lips pressed into a firm line now.

"No," she admitted.

"Then, please stick to the facts, PC Miller," she sounded like a stern boss. "When did you and DI Hardy first start having an affair?"

Everyone was startled at this question. Ellie gaped for a moment, "What?"

But Sharon acted as if she hadn't answered at all yet, "Is the affair ongoing? Can I remind you that you are on oath?"

"No, we've never had an affair," Ellie denied.

"Again," Sharon said, glaring as if she knew Ellie were lying. "Can I remind you, PC Miller, that you are on oath?"

Jocelyn stood, "My lady, where is the evidence?"

Even Hardy sat forward now, wondering what this woman was going to pull out of thin air.

"Coming to that now, my lady," Sharon said, shuffling with her papers.

"You won't find any cos it never happened," Ellie insisted.

"The night of your husband's arrest where were you?"

Ellie sighed and stood straighter, "We'd gone to a hotel because we had to leave our house. I left my kids with my sister cos I went to see Beth, Mrs. Latimer."

"Why?"

"I felt I needed to," Ellie justified.

"And then what did you do?" Ellie was quiet at first before Sharon pushed, "Where did you go, PC Miller?"

"I went to see DI Hardy," she admitted. She could feel the looks she was getting from Beth and Mark.

"Where? Where did you go to see DI Hardy?" Sharon demanded to know, as if she already knew. When Ellie took more than three seconds to answer, the woman pulled out a piece of paper and regarded it as she added, "Well, according to CCTV, you went to the Trader's Hotel around 11:37pm. And left just after a quarter to two. Over two hours."

"I didn't go to the Trader's Hotel," Ellie denied. "CCTV may have caught me passing by on my way to the bookstore – called Between the Pages – across the street. DI Hardy had checked out of the hotel and had been staying at the flat above the bookstore at this time."

Sharon gave her second chair Abby a glower before turning back to Ellie, trying to keep on her own track, "And why was DI Hardy staying above a bookstore rather than the hotel? And why did you go there?"

"Press hounded him at the hotel," Ellie explained. "So, he checked out and went across the street. I went there to talk. To make some sense of things."

"You talked," Sharon mocked her. "You left your two children on the night that their father was arrested for well over two hours to go and see DI Hardy alone on the night that he'd arrested, and you'd beaten up the defendant, your husband, in a flat to talk?"

"I needed to make sense of what had happened," Ellie said. "And we weren't alo-"

Sharon hadn't even let her finish her sentence. "You colluded that night to frame the defendant, your husband, to get him out of the way, because you were having an affair with DI Hardy, didn't you?"

"Absolutely not," Ellie glared. "There was no affair. And we weren't alone that night. We were with Bonnie Irving. She owns the bookstore and the flat. She was with us the whole night. There was no affair."

Sharon paused, giving her second chair a death glare. "And how are we supposed to believe that this bookstore owner isn't in on your plans to frame my client?"

"This is how you think you're gonna win? By twisting the truth and distorting our lives?" Ellie asked her, disgusted with this woman.

"And isn't it the case that this investigation missed key opportunities and failed to examine leads because it was compromised by your personal liaisons with DI Hardy? And together you put an innocent man in the dock?" Sharon berated her.

"No, totally untrue," Ellie said. She stopped to take a deep breath. "I am not the one on trial. I've done nothing wrong. There was no affair, no collusion. We weren't even alone that night or in the Trader's like you seem to think." She spoke calmly and evenly, happy that she hadn't lost her cool.

Sharon's jaw obviously clenched as her plan to make Ellie lose it on the stand failed. "Thank you, PC Miller."

* * *

Bonnie hadn't beaten Alec home that evening, riding in on her bike as he reclined out on the stone steps in front of the house with his files and his head in his hands. She set her bike against the house and sat with him, weaving her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder. "How did it go today?"

"All I can say is I know you're going to be called tomorrow after what was brought up today," he told his, kissing the top of her head. "You'll need to stay calm, straight to the facts."

"I know what to do," she assured him. "I used to play a witness in a lot of mock trial for students or first year associates at firms when I was in school. And I was on the debate team in High School."

"This isn't a debate, it's court," he pointed out. "She's not going to argue with you, and you shouldn't argue with her."

"I won't, but I also won't let her twist my words against me or you," she said. She pulled her head off his shoulder to look at him, "My mother is here."

He did a double take. "What?"

She nodded, still reeling. "She just showed up yesterday. Rambling on about making amends, how I owe her, all this nonsense. I told her I never want to speak to her again. I stopped by the station to put in a report to file a new restraining order for this country. Dave said it's as good as done seeing as she's clearly violated the one I had in America by tracking down my new location in another country. Just would like to warn you if she comes around when you're here alone. But if you can deal with murderers, you can deal with her."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead, "When will this bloody madness end?"

She smiled ruefully, "Whenever the world sees fit. Let's go to bed."

"Let's," he agreed, taking her hand as they went into the house.


	7. Chapter 7: The Tides Turn

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE TIDES TURN

Bonnie was sleeping soundly, facing away from Alec in bed, when he started thrashing a bit. Unconsciously, she turned over to face him, still sleeping. But then she was unpleasantly awoken when he started violently gasping for air and coughing. She quickly tried to embrace him and comfort him, "Honey? Alec, can you breathe? Is it a nightmare?"

He stopped gasping as much as he laid back and tried to calm down under ministrations, trying to gain breath. He didn't answer her at first. But then he whispered, "I was drowning... I was trying to get her out of the water, and I went in and..." trailing off into choked breaths. She didn't question him, just brushing his hair back with her fingers and trying to be there for him.

He suddenly started to cry, heavier and heavier until he was sobbing into his hands, his body bouncing slightly on the bed. Bonnie felt tears well in her own eyes as she reached forward to pull him into her arms, letting him cry into her shoulder and chest. As she did, he wrapped his arms around her and clutched to her like a child clutches its teddy bear at night. "It's going to be all right, honey. I love you. I love you." Almost into the morning, he cried into her shoulder and held her tightly to him, not letting her go until the sun came up.

When it did rise into the new day, they both took care on how they dressed. Bonnie threw on a nice blue blouse and some black slacks, along with a gray cardigan sweater.

She was helping Alec with his tie as he was on hold with his doctor. "Yeah, still holding for Mr. Davies... No, no, I don't want to reschedule. I want to erm... talk to him about an increase in my symptoms... What, is he some higher mortal who doesn't phone people?... My GP? Seriously?" It didn't seem to be going well as he hung up the phone, "For..." and stopped when he saw none other than Olly at the open door, muttering to himself, "God, what do you want?"

"Hello Olly," Bonnie waved the eager journalist inside.

Olly didn't bother with pleasantries. "Lee Ashworth came into our offices the other day. Now, I couldn't place him at first, but then..." he held up some articles with Lee on them, front and center, about Sandbrook, "I went through all the Sandbrook press cuttings. It's a bit of a coincidence, you and him both here."

"Does your editor know you're here?" Alec asked.

"I'm a bit fed up with the way you talk to me," Olly said petulantly.

"Excuse us, Oliver," Bonnie cut in, hands on her stern hips. Alec idly thought she looked just like a mother. "But you are in our home berating us about something that is none of your concern. And you have absolutely no ground to stand on when it comes conducting conversations like these in these delicate situations. You're the one who announced Danny's identity before the family had even 24 hours to let the news of their brother and son's death set in. You're the one who started the snowball of character attacks that lead Jack to take his own life. And you're the one who started the press making Danny's case less about catching the killer and more about attacking Alec."

Olly gaped at her angrily, "You can't possibly put all that on me!"

"Yes, I can!" Bonnie glared at him. "I'd like you to get out of my house, and for you to stop being such a petulant child."

Alec, Olly could have handled being tossed back by. But not Bonnie. She looked damn intimidating, like his own mum or even his Aunt Ellie, with her glare set into her face and her hands on her hips in fists. With a blank face, he turned around and left.

Bonnie smirked a bit when she felt Alec's hands settle on her hips from behind, "That was sexy."

She turned in his arms to wrap hers around his neck. "Alec, I've seen that man before."

His lips that had been poised to kiss her, froze in front of her face. "What?"

"He came into the store asking for directions to the paper," she explained. "Didn't tell me who he was. Just that he was putting out an ad for handyman work. I gave him directions and he left."

"Bloody hell," he cursed, raking his fingers through his hair. She reached up to fix it once he let his hand fall to his side again. "Now he's bothering you. And your mum is bothering you. How are you even upright right now?"

"I'm tougher than I look," she reassured him.

"And you look pretty bloody tough," he mused. "You let me know if he comes 'round harassing you. And your mum. They're the last people in the world you need to be bothered by. And I can take care of you sometimes."

She nodded. "You know it'll be all right, right?"

He held her close, "You think so, don't you?"

She nodded, giving him a kiss, "I love you. We're going to figure out your medical needs. We're going to get through the trail. I'm going to be fine on the stand and Joe is going to rot in prison for the rest of his life."

He fondly cupped her face in his hands and brought her in for another kiss. When he pulled back, he said, "I want to go to Sandbrook this weekend to see about reopening the case. I hope to see Daisy while I'm out there." After a pause, just staring at her, he added, "Could you come along? Meet her and all of that?"

She smiled up at him and stroked his tired face, "I would love to."

* * *

"Oh, bloody hell!" Ellie cursed. She was running late for court and ran out of change for the parking machine. And to make her even more anxious, her sister was being called this morning and expressed her plans to lie on the stand and say she'd definitely seen Joe and recognized him dumping a bag in the bin outside her house the night Danny died.

"Here you go," the deep voice of Lee Ashworth came up behind her as he reached around to push change into the machine for her. "I've got it."

She stared at him, "I hope you're not following me."

He gave her a look, "Says the woman who had me recorded." She took the parking ticket and walked over to her car quickly. But he followed after her, "I heard they trashed you in court. Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, well, I'm sure the jury saw through it," she told herself more than she was telling him.

"It's like a game to them. Don't care about you, what you've lost: husband, son, job-"

She cut him off, "I haven't lost my son and now I'm running late." Once she put the ticket in her car, she started power walking towards the courthouse.

He glared. "Hardy slept with my wife. That's why he's so obsessed with the case."

"What's that got to do with me?" she asked. But she had to think to herself that she didn't believe for a moment that Alec had any kind of sexual or romantic relationship with Claire.

He spoke with venom, "He's poisoned my own wife against me, even though I tried to help him solve it. I just want Claire back."

She glared at him with a pointing finger, "Well, I've talked to her. Stay away from her. You are not good for her."

* * *

"He paid for your parking?" Alec questioned as Ellie made her way through security.

"He said you slept with Claire Ripley," she said with a small laugh in her voice.

He rolled his eyes at the absurdity. But then as they started walking towards the courtroom, he said, "I'm going up there, Miller."

"Where?" She couldn't keep up with him sometimes.

"Sandbrook, this weekend. You can drive me," he said as if he were still her boss.

"What? No, I'm not a taxi! I've got better things to do!" she objected.

He raced his hands defensively, "I've asked Bon along, but she can't drive either. But there is an officer there I can talk to about reopening the case. See the place for yourself. Leave wee..." he trailed off again on her son's name.

"Fred!" she railed.

He nodded along, "Fred with your sister."

They climbed up the stairs and Hardy slowed a bit when he noticed Bonnie talking to Beth just outside the courtroom as they started to walk in. She looked beautiful and nervous.

"She's going to be all right up there," Ellie voiced behind him as they entered the courtroom and took their seats.

* * *

Bonnie kept her posture as straight as possible as she made her way up onto the stand. The clerk helped her up and asked, "Do you wish to swear or affirm?"

"Affirm," she said so he handed her a card and asked her to read from it. "I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give... shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

Jocelyn stood, "Miss Irving, can you explain for the jury what you do for a living?"

Taking her cues on how Alec gave his testimony, Bonnie looked between Jocelyn and the jury members, "I own a bookstore called Between the Pages in town. I mostly deal in secondhand books, sometimes early editions of classics, as well a textbooks and popular fiction. I also run a tutoring center year-round for the local students."

Jocelyn nodded. "And how long have you lived in Broadchurch?"

"I don't know the exact number," Bonnie answered. "Almost ten years now. I moved from Whales after school."

"And how did you know Danny Latimer?" Jocelyn questioned.

Bonnie flinched at his name, imperceptibly, "I used to watch him when he was smaller, for Beth and Mark sometimes. On date nights and such. He also came into the store for tutoring."

"How did you meet Mr. Miller?"

Bonnie spoke evenly, "When I first moved here, I wasn't used to the layout of my bookstore and apartment. I took a small tumble down the stairs. Mr. Miller was still an EMT back then and was the one to patch me up."

"Would you say that you are close with the accused?" Jocelyn asked.

Bonnie shrugged, "As close as any neighbors. I was always closer with Ellie." She tried not to smile at Ellie in the stands and keep to the facts.

"Did you ever notice any suspicious behavior in Mr. Miller during the investigation?" Jocelyn asked.

Bonnie nodded, "On the day that he was arrested, he stopped by the store to ask me to watch Fred while he took Tom into the station to answer some questions."

"And what was so abnormal about that?" Jocelyn asked. "It is my understanding that you used to babysit both Danny and the Miller's son, Tom."

"Well, it wasn't the fact that he asked me to watch Fred," Bonnie said. "But it was how he acted when he came by. He seemed nervous, withdrawn. And then as he left, he said, 'You're a good friend, Bonnie'. It seemed strange to me. He'd never said anything like that to me before. It felt like he was saying some sort of farewell to me."

"Objection," Sharon broke in, "witness is speculating on my client's feelings."

"I'm simply describing how Mr. Miller acted the last I saw of him before he was arrested," Bonnie defended herself calmly.

The Judge gave Sharon a look, "She's right, Miss Bishop."

Jocelyn took her cue to continue, "I'm afraid we must address your relationship with DI Hardy. Can you tell me how you met the detective?"

Bonnie fought the smile on her face, "Well, I first saw him about a week before Danny was found. We bumped into each other on the coast. But we didn't officially meet until the day of, when he came to inform the Latimers of Danny's death."

Jocelyn nodded, "You were with Mrs. Latimer during the course of that day, weren't you?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yes. There were races at the school. I was bringing pudding cups for the children and decided to help Beth when she realized that Danny hadn't been to school. I was with her on the beach, I took her home. There, I met DI Hardy when he first took on the case."

"And when did your romantic relationship begin?" Jocelyn asked. "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for the head of the investigation to consort with a person of interest?"

Bonnie shook her head, "They knew very early on that they were looking for a man. Alec – DI Hardy – and I ran into each other pretty often with my place across the street from the Trader's where he was staying. I offered him tea, the usual niceties I usually offer to anyone. We didn't turn romantic until several weeks into the investigation."

Jocelyn shuffled some papers, "I have a receipt for the fixing of two broken locks at your bookstore and the store to your flat, around the same time you're describing. Can you explain what happened?"

Bonnie nodded. "I tend to sleep with a window open. I had a panic attack midst a nightmare in my apartment, ended up knocking over a lamp. When DI Hardy heard the lamp breaking and my screaming, he broke down the doors in order to get to me and aid me. He stopped my panic attack and helped bandage up some of the cuts I'd gotten from falling into the glass from the lamp. That was the night we first kissed. It didn't get farther than that."

Alec leaned a bit forward in his seat, fighting a half-smile at the memory of kissing her for the first time. She did have a way of making him a sentimental fool.

"Did DI Hardy ever reveal privileged police information about the case to you?" Jocelyn asked.

"No," Bonnie answered.

"The night Joe Miller was arrested, Ellie Miller testified that she visited your flat and was there with DI Hardy and you the whole time she was there," Jocelyn described. Bonnie guessed that's what Alec meant by knowing she'd be called up based on what was revealed yesterday.

"That's correct."

"So, it would be incorrect to assume that Mrs. Miller and DI Hardy were having an affair?" Jocelyn questioned.

Bonnie snorted, "I'm sorry, what? Ellie and Alec? That's ludicrous."

"You were present with them at your flat the entire time PC Miller was there?" Jocelyn asked. "And all the three of you did was talk?"

Bonnie nodded, looking between Jocelyn and the jury, "Ellie needed to absorb all that had happened, what was happening. Her husband, the father of her children, was arrested for killing a child. A child he claimed to love romantically. It would be difficult for anyone to wrap their head around. Her world was turned upside down."

"So, there was no affair," Jocelyn seemed to be glad to determine, briefly looking out to the jury. "DI Hardy was, at this time, staying with you at your flat, and you were in a serious romantic relationship?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yes, we're very committed to each other – were so even then. Ellie and I are good friends as well. There was nothing untoward going on between them."

Jocelyn nodded, "Thank you, Miss Irving."

Sharon stood up, speaking to the judge, "Permission to treat the witness as hostile, your honor."

Jocelyn stood quickly, "On what grounds?"

Sharon looked smug and somewhat righteous as she justified herself, "I believe that the witness is guilty of identity theft and is testifying under a false name today. There is no record of a Bonnie Irving matching the witness previous to 1999."

Bonnie couldn't help but snort, "Is this attitude really because I changed my name when I was eighteen? The records are with the American government, where I was born."

The Judge gave Sharon a stern look, "Permission denied, Miss Bishop. Carry on or let the witness step down."

Sharon gave Abby a heated glare before turning to Bonnie, "Why would you change your name? What were you running from?"

"Nothing illegal if that's what you're implying," Bonnie responded calmly to her thinly veiled accusations. "You'd change your name too if you'd been named Marjorie MacQueen the Second."

She and Jocelyn noticed with hidden glee that some of the jury members chuckled at her candor. They failed to notice Abby pull out her tablet to do something under the table as she made notes excitedly, eager to make up her mess ups.

"Why are you lying about DI Hardy and PC Miller's affair?" Sharon berated her.

Bonnie kept her face straight, "I'm not lying. There is no affair."

"And what could you and DI Hardy have to discuss on date nights other than the case?" Sharon questioned. "How are we supposed to believe that he didn't tell you about privileged details to... I dunno... impress you or get your thoughts?"

"He never told me something that wasn't already public information," Bonnie stated. "He didn't need to break protocol to impress me. I liked him from the start."

Alec couldn't fight the small smile on his lips this time. Even more so when he felt Ellie nudge him with her elbow.

"If you were never a person of interest, why were you questioned by PC Miller and DI Hardy in your flat deep into the investigation?" Sharon asked.

"They also wanted to know why there was no Bonnie Irving in Britain before 1999," Bonnie explained. "I told them how I changed it to honor my late father and moved to Whales to live with his brother and go to school before I moved to Broadchurch and start my business. Very straight forward."

"And how is your relationship with DI Hardy presently?" Sharon interrogated.

Bonnie let herself smile this time, "It's amazing. We've just recently moved in together. We support each other. We're good together."

"And what do you feel about how he colluded with PC Miller to frame Joe Miller for murder?" Sharon assumed.

"That's not what happened," Bonnie spoke calmly. "And we all know it."

Sharon narrowed her eyes at Bonnie, "You don't like me, do you, Miss Irving?"

Bonnie shrugged, "Can you blame me?"

"I think I'd like to know why?" Sharon spoke.

Jocelyn stood, "Why is this relevant?"

Sharon turned to the Judge, "Her feelings about me affect her responses to my questioning."

The Judge turned to Bonnie and said kindly, "Could you please answer Miss Bishop concisely and respectively so that we may move on?"

Bonnie nodded, "Of course," before turning to Sharon. "I don't know why this is relevant because it doesn't affect how I answer your questions. But for the few minutes I've been up here you've not only incorrectly accused me of identity theft but attacked the character of my close friend and the man I live with. Not only that, but you're also trying to get the man who killed a child off charges."

Sharon seemed off kilter as she noticed some of the jury members sympathizing with Bonnie as she stood up there. "You're assuming my client's guilt?"

Bonnie nodded, taking a deep breath, "I loved Danny. It is unthinkable what happened to him and the person responsible deserves to see justice for it. Joe was having an illicit relationship with Danny behind his family's back. Secret messages, secret meetings. Danny was eleven years old. Does that sound innocent to you?"

"My client was simply helping Danny," Sharon posited. "As a parent, he saw his boy's best friend in need of guidance and someone to talk to since his own father beat him. He loved Danny as well."

"And you're assuming that?" Bonnie asked.

"He stated as much during his interview with your lover boy. That he was there for Danny when his father gave him a split lip," Sharon said spitefully. "Now-"

"You mean the interview in which he confessed?" Bonnie asked, accidentally cutting her off. "You don't get to cherry pick sentiments from a confession you've had thrown out of evidence."

"Too right," Jocelyn jumped up. "If Miss Bishop wishes to discuss anything said during the interview and subsequent confession, the whole tape should be reintroduced into evidence for the trial."

"I'm simply trying to explain the true nature of the relationship Mr. Miller had with Danny Latimer," Sharon tried to dissuade the look on the Judge's face. "These people have painted him as a pedophile when he simply told DI Hardy that he was trying to be there for Danny where his own father wasn't."

The Judge looked between Bonnie and the two counselors before sighing, "I'm sorry, Miss Bishop, but if you wish to discuss any point of that interview, then you must think it has merit. I am repealing my decision to have the confession excluded."

Excited murmurs broke through the whole courtroom. Ellie and Hardy were thrilled. Mark and Beth clutched each other and smiled at Bonnie.

The Judge spoke to the jurors, "The Jury is advised to now consider the confession legitimate and take it under advisement while you make your decisions." She turned to Bonnie, "You may step down now, Miss Irving."

"Thank you, my lady," Bonnie nodded as she stepped out.

* * *

Alec stood with the Latimers waiting for Bonnie to exit the courtroom as they had beat her outside in the hall. Ellie made herself scarce at a table when she saw Beth. The group smiled when they saw a smiling Jocelyn walking Bonnie out. "That could not have gone better." They were relieved to hear the solicitor say so. "The jury loves Miss Irving, and now has some contempt for Miss Bishop due to her treatment of her on the stand."

"And she got his confession back in," Mark exclaimed, not being able to hold back from hugging Bonnie. "Thank you."

Beth was crying in happiness as she hugged her next, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Bonnie hugged her friend tightly, "She just screwed herself up. I didn't do much."

"Contrary," Jocelyn said, "if you hadn't said the word confession, I would not have been able to bring the subject up to the judge. You were very smart."

"She was brilliant," Alec broke in, keeping his smile muted in front of the others, but they could all tell he was pleased.

Beth was still hugging Bonnie to her side and pointed a humorous finger at Alec, "You don't let this girl go, you hear me? She's special."

Alec actually laughed with Beth, "I'll take that under advisement."

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab a cup of tea before we're called back in," Bonnie said, skipping off. "Be right back."

She shared a smile with Ellie as she passed the woman downstairs to the coffee and tea stand to order a cuppa. Lucy approached her with a smirk, "Good on you in there. Gave that bitch what for."

Bonnie smiled shyly. "I simply told the truth. You should as well."

Lucy frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know Ellie gave you money," Bonnie spoke quietly as she accepted her cup from the barista. "Bishop is desperate to make it look like Alec and Ellie colluded to frame Joe. That's their only defense at this point with the confession thrown back in. So, I guarantee they know about the money, and they'll use that to make it look like Ellie paid you off to make your statement, especially since you held back 'til the last second. All I'm saying is don't embellish. Just the cold hard truth and the jury will put the pieces together."

* * *

"I'd been playing a bit of online poker... and then I went to the window to close the curtains," Lucy answered on the stand.

"What time was this?" Jocelyn asked.

"4:47am. I checked it on the computer," Lucy looked at the jury as she spoke.

"And what did you see when you went to the window to close the curtains?"

"A man putting a bag into a bin across the street."

"Can you describe the man?"

Lucy paused when she was asked this. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to put Joe away. But she didn't want to let her baby sister down anymore. "He was just under six foot it seemed, a bit thin. And I could tell he had a bald head under the black cap he wore."

Jocelyn nodded, "That description bears a resemblance to your brother-in-law, correct?"

Lucy nodded, "I would say so."

Jocelyn said, "Thank you," and sat herself down.

Sharon stood, "Miss Stevens, you didn't go to the police until 57 days after seeing this man you claim to have seen throwing out a bag."

"I didn't connect it to Danny's death until a few weeks later."

Sharon didn't look kind or convinced, "Really? Despite it being the talk of your town? Despite your own sister being one of the investigating officers?"

Lucy spoke with a bit of attitude, "I know this is every day for you, but the rest of us haven't lived through this before. It was new."

Sharon scoffed, "The facts of your evidence are: finally, you make a statement, 57 days after having seen a figure on a dark street, that bares a passing resemblance to the defendant."

"I know what I saw," Lucy stated.

"It was dark, the figure was far away," Sharon illustrated.

"I know what I saw," Lucy insisted.

* * *

After Lucy, Jocelyn brought in some surprise character witness to take the stand and talk about Joe Miller. Bonnie anxiously sat behind Beth and Mark with Nige as they listened to the dark-skinned woman discuss her working relationship with Joe Miller back before Bonnie had even lived in the country.

"Mr. Miller and I worked for two years together, between 1996 and 1998. We were shift partners working as paramedics at Cardiff City Hospital."

"Can you describe Mr. Miller as a colleague?" Jocelyn requested.

"A bit quiet, kept himself to himself," the woman spoke openly.

"When did you stop working together?" Jocelyn asked.

"It was November 1998, two days after Bonfire Night, and it was at my request," she said the last bit to the jury, emphasizing that the separation was acrimonious.

"Why did you request it?" Jocelyn moved on.

"Joe had offered to give me a lift to get some shopping. The supermarket car park was really busy. Then he saw a space, but this bloke in a BMW came in the other way, the wrong way, and got in ahead of him," the woman illustrated, talking with her hands.

Jocelyn hid a smile, "What did the defendant do then?"

The woman seemed disturbed as she said, "He jumped out the car, ran across and punched the guy in the face. The bloke fell back against the car and Joe started kicking him, going at him really hard!"

"Did you try and stop him?"

The woman shrugged and nodded at the same time, "When I realized what was going on, yeah. By the time I got there though, the guy was bleeding. He ended up with three broken ribs and it took four people to pull Joe off him."

"Had there been any warning signs that Mr. Miller might have a violent tendency?" Jocelyn questioned.

The woman shook her head, "Nothing. It came out of nowhere," as if she were still confused about what had happened.

"Thank you." Jocelyn sat down.

Sharon stood, "Is it a high-pressure job being a paramedic?"

The woman admitted, "It can be... but on that day, we had a good run and even had some time off."

"How many lives did Mr. Miller save in the two years that you worked together?"

"I don't know," the woman said.

"Two, three?"

"More like 50 or 60," she admitted. "It doesn't make what he did right, though."

"But you never saw any sign of this behavior before that day?" Sharon pointed out.

The woman stared back at her, "He blew. I saw him go. It was like a switch had been flipped in him."

"Thank you," Sharon said as she sat down.

But the woman was still talking animatedly, "Scared the life out of me. He nearly killed that guy!"

"Thank you!" Sharon spoke louder to cut the woman off.

Jocelyn concluded, "That concludes the case for the Crown, My Lady."

* * *

 **So I know how I got the confession back in was a fictional long shot, but I was always of the opinion that some of the decisions the Judge made and the things Sharon was able to pull of were ludicrous and stupid. So, I'm fixing it up.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting Miss Daisy

CHAPTER EIGHT

MEETING MISS DAISY

Bonnie folded her legs up on the backseat of Ellie's car, trying to get comfortable for the ride ahead of them. She always hated long travel. She and Ellie were watching Alec talk to Claire outside her little house. It was the first time Bonnie had been to the house, and first time she'd seen Claire since the day she walked into court.

"Ellie?" Bonnie asked meekly from the backseat. "You've seen Claire and Alec interact, right? I don't really have a reason to worry, do I?"

"What?" Ellie asked, looking back at her. "What would make you think that?"

Bonnie shrugged, fiddling with her fingers in her lap, "I've never been the jealous type. And I trust Alec. I know the way he is with me is special to me – to our relationship. But that doesn't mean I trust this woman that he never mentioned before, that was involved in the Sandbrook case."

"To be perfectly frank, I think she's been lying about nearly everything to do with the case and what really happened," Ellie told the other woman. "Hardy treats her like a witness but thinks of her like a suspect. It's been his plan the whole time. Scheming twit."

Bonnie let out a little laugh, "That may be annoying to you, but it makes me feel better."

Ellie gave her a smile, "Things really are serious between you two, aren't they? You melted his icy heart."

Bonnie blushed delicately, "He's not a cold as he puts out there. He cares so deeply and keeps it all inside. I still get surprised when he opens up to me. When the world is cruel to you, you either burrow into yourself and hide from it, or you let it all pass through you and move on."

"He hides, you let it pass," Ellie guess. "That whole opposites attract things totally works for you two."

Bonnie shrugged, "I think it's more of a yin and yang thing. He burrows himself into his work and hides his pain to punish himself for what he perceives as his own failings and to avoid burdening others. But he lets others' transgressions against him pass on by. He holds no ill will for Tess despite how their marriage ended. But he can't let things like Sandbrook go. Me – I let the pain of my past stay in the past, grieve and move on. But I don't forgive. Ever."

Ellie nodded, understanding completely. She felt like she was witnessing a miracle, the way these two people came together and healed each other.

Meanwhile, Alec was running Claire through what was going on, "I'll be away one night, maybe two. I've asked Bob from the station to pass by twice a day." He pulled out a card for her, "This is his number – you call him if you're worried about anything at all." When she just stared at him and didn't accept the card, he asked "You still mad at me?"

"What about Ellie – why can't she stay with me?" Claire demanded.

"She's coming with me," Alec said.

She gave him a salacious look, "Oh. Dirty weekend away?"

He ignored her instigation, "When I get back, we'll talk about what we do next. Just remember – don't go near him. He's not good for you." He started back towards the car but held the card right out at her face, "Take it."

With some attitude, she yanked the card out of his hand. She then jerked her head to the car again, "What about that other bird in the car? Another colleague?"

He just stared at her.

She smirked at him expectantly, "What? Thought I wouldn't notice her or thought I wouldn't ask? Who is she, then?"

He just started walking away, "Go on. Lock all the doors."

He sighed as he pulled himself into the passenger's seat of Ellie's car and sank into the leather as she started up the engine and drove off towards Sandbrook. They were on the freeway for a little bit, but as the silence stretched, Alec reached forward to turn the nob on the radio, switching from station to station, almost like a nervous tick.

Ellie awkwardly chimed in from her seat, "Look at us, Thelma and Louise! You can be Susan Sarandon."

He just kept switching through radio channels. Until Ellie grew irritated with him, "Leave the radio alone! If you can't find anything you like, just turn it off." He obeyed, shutting the radio off. Bonnie watched with a smirk as Ellie huffed, "Right, so if we're not having music, you can at least tell me your theory. With everything you know, what do you reckon happened at Sandbrook?"

He stared out his window, "Someone went into the Gillespie house, abducted both girls. Got rid of the bodies."

"Why Lee Ashworth?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

Bonnie wondered if she should be listening or putting on her music. But she figured most of this was already out there in the world. She wanted to help Alec put this all behind him once and for all.

"Ricky and Cate Gillespie said Pippa always used to like going next door to see Lee," Alec told Ellie.

"If Ashworth was in their house, there must've been forensics," she pointed out.

"Yeah, there were," he confirmed. "Ashworth's DNA was all over the place. A strand of his hair was found on Pippa's pillow."

"On her pillow?" Bonnie piped in from the backseat for the first time. "I'd like to hear how he explained that."

Alec looked at her through the mirror and back at Ellie, "He said he'd been in the house plenty of times, which is true, but... he still wouldn't say how the hair got on the pillow. At one stage, he said it had been put there to frame him."

"By who?" Ellie questioned. "This... Ricky, Pippa's Dad?"

"That's what Ashworth claimed," Alec said. "But this case, Miller, whenever you think you're getting close, it slips away from you."

"Is that why it got to you – cos you could never be sure?" she asked, digging into the root of the problem.

Alec was quiet for a moment. And Bonnie almost thought that he would ignore her question. But then his rough voice answered, sounding lost and far away, "I found her – Pippa Gillespie. She was in the river. And it was deeper than I thought. I got pulled under."

Bonnie held in her small gasp of realization as she remembered how Alec woke up and cried in her arms. I was drowning... I was trying to get her out of the water, and I went in and...

"Just managed to get free and carry her body onto the bank. She'd been in there maybe three days... Water rots the body... She was the same age as my daughter," he broke off with a harsh sigh. Bonnie leaned forward, almost resting her chin on the back of his seat and reached through his arm, weaving her fingers through his and holding his hand. She felt him squeeze back, almost shaking as he went on, "I can still feel the weight of her, water dripping off her clothes all down me. What sort of a person leaves a child like that?"

Bonnie shut her eyes as Alec held her hand to his heart, letting a couple tears leak out. Ellie kept her moist eyes on the road, letting the reality of why this case meant so much to him wash over them all.

* * *

It was starting to get dark and rainy and Bonnie was starting to dose off when Ellie stopped the car outside two houses that looked like they were one house separated into two, sharing a wall.

"Yeah, this pair here," Alec pointed them out. So, this was where Lisa and Pippa were last seen.

"Who lives there now?" Ellie asked.

"The Gillespies own both houses. They rented the one on the right to Lee and Claire. Cate still lives in the one on the left," Alec told her.

Ellie was taken aback, "Even after everything that's gone on?"

"She wanted to be there, in case Lisa came back," Alec sighed. As he said so, he shared a look with Bonnie in the rearview mirror. They both knew for certain that Lisa was never coming back.

"Let's go to the hotel."

* * *

They'd been able to get two rooms at the hotel, so Alec and Bonnie could share, and Ellie could have her privacy. Bonnie took her time in the bathroom getting dressed in her nightgown and brushing out her curls to get the tangles out from sleeping in the car. When she walked back out to the room, she saw Alec hunched on the bed, still clothed, peering at his phone with his glasses perched on his nose.

With a smile, she crawled over to him from the other side of the bed until her chin rested on his shoulder, and she whispered in his ear, "You know, I find seeing you in those glasses a rather sexy sight."

With a started smirk, he put his phone on the table and looked at her, "Is that so?"

She sat astride his lap and started unbuttoning his white dress shirt. "Yes. Why are you still all dressed? It's bed time."

As they both stripped off his shirt and undershirt, he said, "Why get undressed without you around to help me?"

"Cheeky bastard," she grinned, leaning down lay little kisses up his neck to his mouth, kissing him languidly. She pressed down on top of him as they embraced.

He fingered the hem of her nightgown along her backside as she started undoing his belt and zipper, reaching in until she grasped him in his boxers, earning a startled breath out of his mouth and nose. She started kissing down his chest as her hands pulled him out of his pants and his startled breathing turned into an outright guttural groan as she took him into her mouth.

"Bloody hell!" he cursed, peering own at her, his glasses still perched on the tip of his nose. "What do you think you are doing?"

She laughed through her nose as she worked him in her mouth. It should be obvious what she was doing. When his hips started moving with her, she lifted off of him. Their movements grew a bit hastier as they worked together to pull his pants down. With a cheeky grin, she pulled the hem of her nightgown up to reveal she hadn't bothered putting on panties.

"You're going to bloody kill me, love," he said, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he started struggling to breath.

Seeing that he was having trouble, Bonnie gave him a kiss and pushed him to lay flat against the pillows. "Breathe. Let me take care of all the stress."

He let out a breath as she lifted her hips over him. When they were joined, he let out a groan and gripped her hips as she started moving on top of him. He wished he could move with her the way he wanted to. He wanted to let out all inhibitions and meet her with the same unfettered emotion and energy she expressed to him during their intimate times. But then he could feel his heart start to pound and tunnel vision set in and he almost always had to slow down. He wondered if that left her unsatisfied with this facet of their life. But she never once complained.

She just loved him.

Bonnie loved looking at him when he was with her like this. He was most open and vulnerable, and of course she loved the absolute pleasure that raced up her spine when he was inside her. As she moved over him and started feeling the peak of it all, she leaned down over him and crashed their lips together. One of his hands reached up to cup her face and hold her closer as they came together, practically breathing for each other as she slowed down and then rested on top of him, letting her head rest in on his chest.

He brushed his fingers through the hair at the back of her head, "Did you...?"

She let out a breathy laugh into the skin of his neck, the air giving him goosebumps. "Yes, love, I'd think you'd notice."

He turned his head towards her, pensive, "Just wanted to make sure. I know I can't be... as energetic as you might-"

"Stop," she sighed, leaning up on her elbows, framing his head with her forearms as she looked down at him tenderly. "I am not dissatisfied with any aspect of our relationship. You have a heart condition. That impacts how you have to live and conduct yourself. Even in bed. But whenever we're together, we both finish, and I go to sleep with a smile on my face. Because every time, I feel close to you, I think about how much I love you, and you love me."

He brushed some hair out of her face, "I can't believe someone like you exists. Bloody amazing."

She stared down at him pensively, "One thing I don't like, is how hard you are on yourself. Like you're not deserving of love. You are deserving of love. And I am lucky to be the one to give it to you."

Quietly, they turned to lay on their sides and looked into each other eyes. Bonnie was almost starting to nod off when he spoke, "Would you marry me?"

Her eyes opened wide and looked right into his serious ones. She felt like her heart was going to burst. She gave him a sleepy smile and shuffled closer to him, "Yes, I would marry you, my grouchy man. I'm in love with you. I can't imagine a more fulfilled life without sharing it with you."

He grunted, kissing her forehead, "I should have a ring or something."

She laughed, feeling her eyes start to fall as her drowsiness set in again, "Well, you can prepare when you ask the real question. And you can be assured that my answer will be the same."

She fell asleep first, in his arms. He stayed awake a bit more, just holding her. He remembered feeling this swelling in his chest the first time he proposed to someone and they accepted. He thought it would last forever then too. But he had some kind of extra reassurance this time around, with Bonnie. She was different in every way from any other person, let alone woman. She loved unabashed, without any strings or expectations. She opened up, she shared, she accepted him. She made him better. And he felt he couldn't be the man he wanted to be without her. And he certainly knew not to let these kinds of connections go unconnected. He would not let her go for anything in the world.

* * *

Ellie and Bonnie both felt more awkward than Alec as they drove up to the Gillespie household.

Ellie asked, "How am I meant to get in there?" as she parked across the street. She was meant to look through Claire and Lee's home while Alec and Bonnie talked to Cate who still lived in her home.

Alec picked a key off of his key ring and held it out to her, "I made a copy before I handed the originals back."

She gaped at him, "No!"

He gave her a look, "You've read the files. You've met Lee and Claire. Have a look around and see what you think."

Ellie waited in the car while they approached the Gillespie door and Alec knocked. When Cate opened the door and scowled at the sight of him, he immediately said, "Cate, please don't slam the door."

"What do you want?" she drawled.

"Five minutes."

Reluctantly, she opened the door and let them in. Bonnie gave her a small smile and held out her hand, "My name is Bonnie. I'm a friend of Beth Latimer's and Alec's as well."

Cate slowly shook her head dubiously. She picked up a glass already filled with red wine and sipped from it, not saying anything to either of them.

"I still haven't given up on you or the case," Alec spoke carefully, not wanting to cause a fight, just wanting to help. He only wanted justice and closure for everyone involved. "Erm, I came because I thought you should hear this from me. Lee Ashworth is back in the country."

Cate's face went dead, but her eyes lit up with anger, "Where?"

"Nowhere near here," he assured her. "I'm keeping him under observation."

Her face went hard, "If I see him, I'll kill him."

"I know," he said, matter-of-fact. Awkwardly, he added, "I was sorry to hear about you and Ricky," referencing their divorce after their daughter died.

She didn't seem to have any feeling about that subject, "It was a long time coming."

He nodded, "Well, going through something like this..."

She scoffed, "We were broken before then. All that cock of the walk, 'every woman loves me' bullshit..." she trailed off. "Only so much any woman could take. Even over the fence, when he knew I was watching, with Claire. He'd check I could see."

Alec frowned. A relationship between Ricky Gillespie and Claire had never been mentioned during the course of the initial investigation, "I'm sorry, you never told us-"

"Even the moment his daughter was being killed..." she was still speaking.

"At the wedding? You were at the wedding together," he cut in.

She sank down into her couch with an incredulously sigh, "He was shagging one of the bridesmaids – Tiffany Evans."

Alec stopped short at the completely new information, "You always said you were together that night. You never mentioned-"

"What did it have to do with you?" she cut him off apathetically. "Makes no difference now, anyway."

Bonnie wanted to say that it did. That she should have said something the first time around. She could have been providing a false alibi for her husband. And he could have been anywhere. It made her fight a shiver.

Instead, Alec said, "I will get you justice."

"It's too late," she said.

"No, it isn't," Bonnie spoke again for the first time. "Not ever."

* * *

Bonnie sat a little closer to Alec in the casual restaurant across from Ellie waiting for Tess to show. She didn't want to be jealous. She was just nervous to see the woman that once held Alec's heart and crushed it. But Bonnie knew that she would treat it better.

"So, what does this DS look like?" Ellie asked, looking around.

Bonnie turned a raised eyebrow to Alec, "You didn't tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Ellie demanded.

Bonnie looked over at Ellie, "This DS is Tess."

Ellie gave Alec an angry look, "We're meeting your wife?"

"Ex-wife," Alec corrected pointedly.

"Wanker," Ellie glowered as a woman with tight brown curls pulled back in a bun, dressed in a business suit speed-walked in, looking flustered.

"Sorry, sorry! Got held up," she apologized, taking the empty seat next to Ellie.

"No, no, you're fine. We just got here," Ellie assured her.

The woman – Tess – gave Ellie a friendly smile and put out her hand, "You must be Bonnie. It's nice to meet you."

Ellie flushed at the mere thought of her and Alec being the couple at the table and shook her head, "Oh, no-"

"Bonnie would be me," Bonnie pointed to herself with an amused grin. She noticed Alec grimace at the mix up as well and thought it funny to think about his discomfort. "And it's nice to meet you as well, Tess. If I can just call you Tess."

Tess turned to her, her smile slightly falling in embarrassment or discomfort, but she forced it back up. "Sorry, of course, call me Tess." She paused a bit, her mouth slightly ajar. She let out a forced and awkward chuckle, "I'm sorry, you look like you can't be over twenty-five."

Bonnie kept her smile up and waved off the woman's faux pas, "Oh don't apologize for that – that's the best compliment I've gotten in a long time." She gestured to Ellie, "This is Ellie Miller. She and Alec used to work together."

Tess looked over at Ellie now, "Oh, you're Joe Miller's wife. The Broadchurch case. Right. Yep. I feel like I'm playing catch-up here."

"It's about Sandbrook," Alec abruptly cut in, straight to business.

Tess' whole face dropped, looking immediately exasperated, "Tell me that's not why you're here."

"Hear me out," he plead, leaning forward. "Lee Ashworth is back in the country. He's staying near me. There's grounds for reopening the case."

"Don't do this," Tess almost begged.

"Potential new evidence – a pressed bluebell sent to Claire Ripley anonymously," he told her before turning to Ellie. "Plus, Miller, tell her what she told you about that night."

Tess looked at Ellie expectantly. Feeling slightly put on the spot, Ellie paused before explaining, "Claire said that, the night the girls went missing, Lee drugged her with Rohypnol. She slept all night. When she woke up, he was cleaning the place."

Tess' face composed into a patient mask. "So, Claire Ripley's down there with you, too?"

"She's changed her story," Ellie added.

"Has she made a statement?" Tess questioned.

Ellie shook her head. "We were just talking."

"Would she give a statement?" Tess asked, as if she already knew the answer.

"I haven't asked her," Ellie admitted.

Alec broke in again, "Couple of officers, that's all I need. Some surveillance-"

"You're not even on active duty!" Tess protested. "Unless we have a genuinely significant new lead, there's just no appetite to-"

"At least talk to your superiors," Alec said beseechingly.

"What is wrong with you?" Tess asked him loudly, getting emotional and exasperated with the conversation. "How can you imagine I'd want to go back to it after what it did to us?"

Ellie and Bonnie both kept their faces blank at her sentiment as Tess and Alec stared each other down. Ellie broke the silence, saying, "You could reopen the case..."

"I could, but I won't," she said definitively.

Alec kept staring her down, "A girl's body is still missing. A killer's walking free. There're families who don't have closure and you won't reopen it because of what? Internal politics? Or... or personal inconvenience?"

She bristled at his accusation, "Don't take the moral high ground with me."

He glared at her incredulously, "Me take the moral high ground? You built a bloody house there!"

"I see the families every month. I write, phone and visit. I didn't run!" she accused him.

"I had no choice. No-one stood up for me," he pointed out.

"Maybe you should've made more friends," she posited back at him.

"Like you and Dave?"

Bonnie couldn't take it anymore and put her hands between their faces in a T formation, "All right, that's enough. You've both gone just a bit too far. This is not about either of you and what happened in the past. This is about Pippa and Lisa, it's about their families and what happened to them. It's about getting the truth and getting justice." She gave Tess a look, "There is absolutely no reason to give up doing so." She turned to Alec, "But this doesn't need to be personal." She leaned back, retracting her hands, "Why don't we table this discussion for later? Cooler heads and all that."

"Right, you're right," Tess stood, gathering her purse. She looked at Alec, "Don't be late for dinner. Daisy's looking forward to it." She gave Bonnie an awkward smile, "And meeting you as well." She then turned to Ellie and said, "Nice to meet you. Good luck with the trial," before making her leave.

Bonnie was surprised to see Ellie staring at her fondly, "What?"

Ellie shrugged, "Just remembering what made you such a good sitter with Tom back in the day."

Bonnie smiled, a little embarrassed, "My dad used to say I was born a natural mother, child or no child. It's just how I am."

She felt Alec's hand take hers under the table and knew they were both thinking about all their conversations they'd been having about children lately. They were going to continue having those talks, and neither minded.

* * *

Alec and Bonnie took a tab to a chicken restaurant since neither of them could drive Ellie's car, leaving the DS to relax in her hotel room. Bonnie had been eerily quiet in the backseat of the cab. So, Alec let out an awkward cough into his hand and asked, "Something is bothering you, isn't it? About earlier?"

Bonnie sighed, "You and Tess argued like you were still a married couple. And that just makes me more nervous about re-meeting her in a less formal setting and meeting Daisy as the other woman in her father's life."

"Tess and I argued like the divorced people we are," Alec pointed out, reaching over for her hand resting on the cab seat. "And Tess said Daisy was excited to meet you. Everything will be fine."

She turned over her hand in his to intertwine their fingers. "I'm normally not this insecure. You've cracked your way into my shell."

"And you softened mine," he answered, kissing her temple as the cab pulled up to the eatery. He quickly paid the cabbie and rushed around the car to open the door as Bonnie collected her messenger bag. He grasped her hand as they made their way into the restaurant and were waved over by Tess and Daisy. Daisy looked just like her parents, light eyes like Alec and light hair straight down her shoulders, soft features. Very pretty.

Tess stood, looking less formal and a bit as nervous as Bonnie felt, putting her hand out for the younger woman, "It's nice to meet you again. Different circumstances, of course. I'm Tess, this is my daughter, Daisy."

"Hi," Bonnie gratefully took the woman's hand and shook it. She then turned to Daisy and offered her hand, "Hello Daisy, I'm Bonnie."

Daisy had a little grin on her face as they shook hands, "I cannot believe you are dating my dad. You're way out of his league."

"Hey!" Alec protested.

But the women all laughed at his expense. Bonnie shrugged, "I don't know about that. But I see you're every bit as beautiful as your father said. I believe he said, 'beautiful and witty,' a father's worse nightmare, first time he talked about you to me. I found it very touching."

Alec hid his flush as the others looked at him in response. "Shall we sit?"

"Course," Tess chimed, retaking her seat on the bench next to Daisy. Alec and Bonnie took the chairs across from them.

Daisy leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, looking at Bonnie with interest, "How old are you?"

Tess gave her daughter a look, "Daisy!"

"Oh, it's okay," Bonnie reassured the woman, pointing a finger at Alec with a smirk, "this one asked the same thing when we first met." She looked at Daisy with a peaceful smile, "I'm thirty-one. You're fifteen, must be just starting out in High School right now."

Daisy rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "Yeah, I am. How did you and my dad meet?"

Bonnie didn't want to get into the investigation at the dinner table and was thankful when a waiter walked over with menus for them, giving her more time to think on her answer. When he left with the promise to come back for their orders, Bonnie answered, "I own a bookstore across the street from the hotel your father was staying at when he first came to Broadchurch. Our paths crossed a few times, eventually we started meeting on purpose. I think I got under his skin."

"Too right," Alec said as he fished out his glasses to peer over the menu.

Bonnie handled her own, looking at it and between Daisy and Tess, "I hear you like this place. What's good here?"

"Oh, it's all good," Tess chimed in, holding out her own menu. "I usually get the chicken salad."

Bonnie peered at it, "Grilled chicken looks good."

When the waiter came back to take their orders, the women quickly gave theirs, but Alec kept staring at his through his glasses. "Have you got anything that isn't chicken?"

"There's spicy bean burger," the waiter offered.

"Oh, God, no," he grumbled to himself. "Or a salad?"

"Dad, it's a chicken joint," Daisy pointed out.

"I just don't really fancy it," he murmured.

Tess grinned over at her daughter, "See?"

Alec looked up between them. "What?"

Daisy laughed, "Mum said you'd be fussy."

"I'm not!" he protested as the girls laughed. He looked at Bonnie, "Aren't you supposed to defend my honor or something?"

Bonnie laughed and pointed at one of options, "Get the lettuce wrap."

Alec nodded, holding up the menu for the waiter to collect, "What she said then. Thanks." He put his glasses away and looked at his daughter, "So, how's school?"

"Pretty shit," she answered. Bonnie had to smother her chuckle.

"Oh, we use words like that now, do we?" he turned to Tess with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't look at me!" she defended against his stare with raised hands. "I've been fighting this for the past 18 months."

"Dad, 'shit' is not swearing," Daisy protested.

"Erm, it is!" he argued.

"Ah, thank you. See?" Tess readily agreed with her ex.

She looked between them, "No, it's not! Look at you both. You have no idea." She turned to Bonnie, "Let's get our drinks."

Bonnie was a little taken aback and shared a confused look with Alec, but agreed, "All right," and stood to get their drinks from the counter.

After ordering, Daisy asked, "So, are you and my dad going to get married?"

Bonnie was again startled but she always felt that complete honesty was the best approach and felt it wouldn't make her look good to hedge around a subject with Alec's daughter. "Well, I think so. Would that bother you?"

The teenager shrugged, "You seem cool. And after what mum did, I doubt dad would go back to her."

"What your mum did?" Bonnie repeated questioningly. She wondered what Daisy meant.

Daisy gave her a look, "I know the unnamed DS the papers said really screwed up those girls' case that dad protected was my mum. Who else would he protect like that? DS meets other DS at a hotel for a drink? I can put two and two together and guess at what she was doing there."

Bonnie sighed, "Your dad didn't want you knowing that about your mother and have it affect your relationship."

"Instead, mine with him suffered since he was practically ran out of here," Daisy said.

"Well, you can call, skype, you can visit anytime you want," Bonnie said. "Your dad would be thrilled to see you more. He really loves you, Daisy."

Daisy perked up and gave her a look, "Do you and dad live together?"

Bonnie blushed and nodded, "I just recently moved in with him. I gave up the apartment above my store to the new manager I hired."

"Do you have sex?" Daisy asked bluntly.

If Bonnie had been taking a sip of anything, she would have spat it out, "Now I know you get that cheekiness from your father!"

"You didn't answer the question," Daisy pointed out smugly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Yes, we do. But you're not getting any details."

Daisy grimaced, "Ew, I don't want to know those."

"Good," Bonnie laughed as their drinks came.

As they had left, Alec had turned to Tess, "Oh, God, she's older, isn't she? Not just in days, but her manner and the way she dresses..."

"She's not a little girl anymore," Tess agreed.

Alec leant back in his chair, speaking softly, "Yeah... I missed her change."

"Yes, you did," Tess murmured. She then leaned forward and reached her hand across the table, "Let the case go, Alec."

He groaned, "You know I can't do that."

Their conversation was interrupted when an upset Ricky Gillespie walked up to them, looking at Tess and Alec with contempt, "Have you given him the bollocking, or shall I?"

Alec internally sighed when he saw the man, greeting him shortly, "Ricky," before turning to Tess. "Did you tell him I was here?"

Tess looked guilty, "Ricky called me earlier to lodge a complaint of harassment against you and-"

Ricky pointed a finger at him, "You leave Cate alone. She's too fragile."

"We all want the truth," Alec replied tiredly.

Ricky spat at him, "We had the truth and you screwed it up for us. You're a failure! You can never put it right."

Bonnie and Daisy walked over with their drinks. Bonnie instantly knew who the man was and was shocked to see Lisa again for the first time standing behind him, looking angry and uncomfortable. Daisy was confused when she saw the man and asked, "What's going on?"

Ricky completely deflated when he saw her walking up, asking Alec, "Is this your girl?"

Tess nodded.

Ricky turned to Daisy, asking softly, "How old are you, sweetheart?"

Still confused, she answered, "Fifteen."

Ricky spoke wistfully, "I had a girl like you. She was murdered... and, thanks to your dad, a man's still free."

Bonnie stood forward and blocked Alec from standing up, standing in front of him and Daisy and setting her drink down before she spoke to Ricky, channeling some of Lisa's fear and desire to get rid of Ricky. "That's enough, Mr. Gillespie. You're upset, and I think it's time that you go home."

Ricky glared at her unsteadily, "And who do you think you are to tell me to go home? I have no home thanks to him!"

"That's not on Alec," Bonnie replied patiently. "All right?"

"Listen-" he started to argue with her, reaching forward.

Alec was about to intervene but was surprised when Bonnie caught him hand and pushed her thumb into the pressure point. Ricky hissed in pain and backed away quickly, but she followed him, pressing into his hand until he was closer to the door of the restaurant before letting him go. "Drive safe, Mr. Gillespie."

Bonnie held in her sigh as she returned to the table, "You all okay?"

Daisy stared at her, stunned, before saying to Alec, "She's awesome. I like her."

"Where did you learn something like that?" Alec asked as Bonnie and Daisy took their seats.

"Jay made me take a bunch of self-defense classes when I moved in with him," she explained, sipping on her lemonade.

"Jay?" Tess questioned curiously. "Old boyfriend?"

Bonnie let out a laugh. "Heavens no. My Uncle. My father's family lives in Whales and Scotland. I grew up in America but moved out to Whales after I turned eighteen."

"Oh, where did you live in America?" Tess asked.

"Richmond, Virginia," Bonnie answered. "Born and raised for the most part."

"Was it your dad and his family that brought you here?" Daisy piped up.

Bonnie grimaced, "Sort of. My father died when I was fifteen..." They were a bit quiet when she said so. Tess averted her eyes, and Daisy was somber. She was fifteen, she didn't want to lose her father. She couldn't imagine it. Bonnie cleared her throat and continued through the awkward pause, "And I never got on with my mother, we're very different. So, when I turned eighteen, I decided that I wanted to start over and feel closer to my dad. Moving in with his brother, visiting where he grew up, accomplished all that. He also instilled in me my love of books – ergo I've got my bookstore now."

"Did you always want to own a bookstore?" Daisy asked as their food was brought out.

"The original plan was to be a teacher," Bonnie said, cutting into her grilled salsa chicken. "But life happens and changes your plans sometimes. Do you have an idea of what you want to do?"

Daisy shrugged, "No idea."

"Well, you're young," Alec chimed in, tossing his tie over his shoulder to bite into his own wrap. "You've got time to figure it all out."

"He's right," Bonnie agreed.

Daisy was quiet for a moment, eating her food. Then she asked, "So, what are your intentions towards my dad?"

"Is that really a good topic of conversation?" Alec grumbled.

Bonnie laughed and touched his arm, "Your daughter has your inquisitive nature. She's the daughter of two police officers." She then turned to Daisy, "I have very deep feelings for Alec. And I see a good future for us. I have no intention of leaving him or hurting him. Does that satisfy you?"

Daisy nodded, satisfied, and looked at her father, "Dad, don't let her go."

"Oh, I won't," Alec replied, a bit flustered, but clasped Bonnie's hand under the table, squeezing it thankfully.

* * *

Bonnie quietly leaned her head into Alec's shoulder as they sat in the cab on the way back to the hotel. "I think that went well."

"You've earned my daughter's favor, that's for sure," he remarked, his arm resting peacefully around her and holding her to his side.

"But you should know," she sighed, looking up at him, "that Daisy knows what Tess did. That she lost the pendent, what she was doing when her car was broken into. She put it together when Maggie's story ran. She just told me, I didn't say anything."

"Bloody fantastic!" he cursed, leaning his head back, clenching his eyes shut.

"She didn't seem angry," Bonnie assured him, reaching her hand around his neck to massage the tension lightly. "She just seemed frustrated with how you were treated. And she misses you. I told her she could visit any time she wanted."

He kept his eyes closed, "We're going back tonight..."

"He did it," Bonnie cut him off.

"What?" he asked, taken aback by the sudden change in subject. He finally reopened his eyes and looked over at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Ricky," she said. Giving the cabbie a look, she lowered her voice before adding, "I saw Lisa again. With Ricky. She was frightened, and uncomfortable, and angry. She wanted him to go away. That's odd for a niece to feel about her Uncle, right? Especially one she babysat for so often. I mean, I love Uncle Jay. Even when we fight, I never get scared or uncomfortable like she was. I believe he did it."

He looked at her, "I'm beginning to wonder the same."

* * *

 **How'd you like Bonnie's first meet with Tess and Daisy?**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	9. Chapter 9: Susan Wright

**Your reviews keep me going.**

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

SUSAN WRIGHT

Ellie didn't understand why both Alec and Bonnie were silent the entire drive back to Broadchurch but didn't say anything as they reached the courthouse. Ellie looked Alec in the side of his face, watching him walk forward with Bonnie by his side.

"I've just driven through the night and you've not said a word. What's bothering you?"

"Ricky Gillespie," he snarled into the air. "Why would a father not want an investigation to restart into the death of his own daughter?" He looked at her as they walked up to the courthouse. "What if Lee Ashworth didn't do it? What if he's been telling the truth? What if I've been wrong?"

Ellie was quiet for a moment before something occurred to her and she gasped, "Oh, my God, I meant to tell you. When Claire and I went out drinking, I checked her phone – the one you gave her."

"Yeah?" his interest piqued.

"Well, firstly, all the Internet searches are about Lee: 'Lee Ashworth killer.' Bit odd," she mentioned.

"Second?" he prompted as they walked through the door and started through security.

"And she only had two numbers in her phone. First one was yours. The other I didn't recognize. Oh, I've put it in my phone, hang on." She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, holding it to her ear as they made through the security checks. "No, it's just ringing out."

"Right, come on, we're late," he waved her on. Bonnie walked ahead of them up the stairs and gave Alec a kiss on the cheek before walking over to sit next to Nige behind Mark and Beth.

Beth was greeting her with a smile when Bonnie heard a voice call her name. She froze when she saw Marge waving at her with excitement from the general seating area closer to the door. "Bloody hell."

"Who's that?" Nige asked, nudging her with his elbow.

"My mother," she answered. "Oh God, she's going to ruin everything."

"Your mum?" Beth questioned quietly. "I thought you didn't speak? I thought she didn't even know where you lived?"

"My nosy Aunt told her, and she just showed up," Bonnie explained quickly. "Don't humor her."

"All rise!" the clerk announced, prompting them all to stand.

"The defense calls Susan Wright."

Everyone was surprised to see the woman who lived at the caravan park – who hadn't been seen since Joe had been arrested – walk into the courtroom from the side door opened by the bailiff.

Bonnie felt Nigel freeze next to her and whispered, "You all right?"

"Let's just say we're in the same boat right now," he whispered back.

"Would you please give your full name to the court?"

"Susan Wright," the blonde woman drawled from her place on the stand.

"And you were living at Tides Caravan Park on July 18th, 2013?" Sharon questioned.

"I was," she answered nonchalantly.

"Miss Wright, where were you in the early hours of the morning...?" Sharon asked.

"I was walking my dog Vince on the beach at Broadchurch. I've a caravan nearby," Susan said.

"And did you see anything significant on the beach that morning?"

Bonnie felt like she saw something ticking in the woman's eyes. "I saw a boat come in... and a man carrying the body of a young boy. Then he laid it on the beach."

"Did you recognize the man carrying the body?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"Oh no," Bonnie whispered. Could this be what Lucy wanted to do? It would jeopardize the whole case.

"And can you name that man for the court?" Sharon requested.

"Nigel Carter," Susan said without remorse, without hesitation. It wasn't like Lucy's plan. It was much worse. Susan pointed a finger at Nigel next to Bonnie, "He's my son... and he's sitting over there."

* * *

After Bishop got through with Susan they were dismissed for the day, given the out-of-left-field testimony she'd given, incriminating Nigel. Bonnie walked out with him and the Latimers, remarking incredulously, "That's your birth mother? Can't believe it."

"She's crazy!" he hissed.

"Magpie!"

Bonnie completely lost all patience when she heard that old nickname. She groaned out loud when she saw her mother excitedly approaching her and the Latimers. The woman had that ever-present serene smile on her face as she looked at Beth, extending her hand, "Oh, you must be Beth Latimer. I was so sorry to hear about your boy. I truly believe that if Joe Miller doesn't see justice in this life, he will see justice in the next." Bonnie reluctantly agreed with that sentiment. She had seen what happened with bad souls that didn't get to move on. They faded into oblivion. But she hated that little smile her mother got that was supposed to be comforting, as she clasped one of Beth's hands in one of her own, "I'm Marge, Marjorie's mother."

"My name is Bonnie," Bonnie cut her off.

Marge ignored her, "I don't know if she's told you what I do for a living. I'm a medium. If you need further closure, I can contact Danny for you. He's still with you..."

Bonnie was disgusted at her mother. They both knew that Danny wasn't around anymore. He'd already moved on. Beth looked gutted at the mention of contacting Danny and Mark and Nige looked outraged. As outraged as she felt. Bonnie stepped forward and said, "That's enough. You leave them alone."

"I'm only trying to help-" her mother tried to protest but Bonnie had already grabbed her arm and was leading her away towards the stairs.

"I don't want to see your face around here ever again," Bonnie hissed in her ear as they walked down the stairs. "I have a good life here. A great life, great future, and none of it involves you. I know that you've never cared about me and what I want—"

"I'm your mother and I love you!" Marge protested loudly. Bonnie was glad they were near one of the doors as she pushed the woman outside. "Of course, I care about what you want. But we are mother and daughter, we need to make peace!"

"No, we don't!" Bonnie yelled. "We really don't. I have never bought that bullshit about how family members absolutely have to maintain relationships with each other and let go of the past and make nice just because they share blood. Toxic is toxic, and you have to get toxic people out of your life, family or not. You-" she jabbed a finger at Marge's face, "are toxic. And I've cut myself free of you in everything and name. I don't want you in my life. And if you really care about me or what I want at all – you'll respect that and go back to Richmond."

With her piece said, she walked away quickly made her way to the front of the courthouse where Beth and Mark were sitting. "I am so sorry about her. I knew she was mental, but I didn't think she was bold enough to show up here and – and offer her services."

"Yeah, what was that?" Mark demanded. "Your mum sees dead people? She thinks she can talk to Danny?"

"Her mother is a con artist," Beth said, taking her friend's hand. "Bon told me during the investigation, when that phone engineer approached me and claimed he got messages from Danny. It's all a lie. She ran away from her mum when she moved here."

Mark slightly relaxed, "I don't want to see her hanging around saying she's talking to Danny."

"I've told her time and time again to leave," Bonnie sighed, feeling a little pent up. "I've told her to leave you all alone and I hope that she listens. But if she harasses you, feel free to report her, whatever, don't worry about how it will affect me. I've already reissued the restraining order from Virginia here."

Mark looked at her, "You have a restraining order against your mum?"

"If you knew how she was raising me, pitting me against my dad, trying to force me into her medium bullshit," Bonnie listed off, "then you'd understand why I needed one."

"We just walk away if she shows up," Beth broke in. "We can't waste time thinking about her, we've got the trial to worry about."

"He's going away," Bonnie said, hugging the other woman's shoulders.

"That Susan Wright woman is trying to get them to put Nige away," Mark complained.

"The jury will see through it hopefully," Bonnie sighed. "But it's probably Christmas for that Bishop bitch."

"Let's shove off," Beth said as Alec approached, looking at Bonnie. "Take care of this one, yeah?"

"Of course," Alec agreed as Beth and Mark said their goodbyes and walked off. He took Bonnie's shoulders into his hands and asked, "I saw you having an argument with a woman. Your mother?"

Bonnie sighed and nodded, "I can't believe she came here of all places. She won't take a hint, or a very clear declaration of my desire not to see her."

"Sometimes people get blinded by their own desires," he said as he weaved her arm through his elbow and started leading them towards where Ellie was parked. "Hopefully, she'll get tired of fighting and leave you alone."

"I'm already tired of fighting," she lamented, laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired of fighting her. I was happy before, without her." She poked her head up to look at him, "With you."

"It'll be okay," he remarked, giving her a forehead kiss.

She playfully narrowed her eyes at him, "When did you get to be the optimistic one?"

"Just channeling you, sweetheart," he teased.

* * *

Bonnie felt a killing migraine setting into her brain in the early hours of the morning. It was still dark out, Alec was sleeping soundly next to her, facing her. She felt fear spiking in her heart, and surprise, and felt someone's hands on her head, holding it tightly and smacking it into something hard. She felt like her skull was split open. It was excruciating.

When she woke, it was with a scream. She shot up like a bullet, clutching her head and sobbing in pain.

"Bonnie?" Alec's sleepy voice asked as he started waking. When he saw her state, he quickly sat up and closed his arms around her. "What's wrong? What happened? Nightmare?"

She sagged into his chest, whining deep in her throat and chest and holding her head from the side and the back of it. "They were smacking my head into the wall or something. It feels like it's cracked open."

"Who?" he questioned, cradling her head and feeling around for any kind of evidence that she was physically hurt. When she had felt Danny's death, she had bruises on her neck for days. When he felt something wet when he brushed his fingers through her hair at the back of her head, he felt the chill she usually described feeling when being visited by people like Danny and Lisa. "Shit!" he cursed, scrambling off the bed to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit.

Bonnie looked up after him and saw a tearful Lisa standing by the door to the bathroom. She looked scared and apologetic. She was rapidly speaking but no words were coming out.

"It's okay," Bonnie whispered, the words coming out with visible breath in the colder air.

"You're bleeding," Alec answered her, not seeing Lisa as he rushed back in with the little first aid kit that Bonnie had gotten when he got the house. He knelt by her on the bed again and separated her hair, seeing only a small cut on top of a purple bump. It only slightly comforted him that it wasn't fatal looking. He couldn't take her to the ER with what looked like another ghost injury. He pushed her hair over her shoulders and started cleaning the wound. "This will sting."

"It's okay," she just repeated, looking right at Lisa.

"I guess I finally get to take care of you for once," he remarked, kissing her head.

"Oh," she turned to him, catching his lips, but flinched at the pain erupted in her skull. "Ow!"

"Another invisible friend?" he asked lightly, taping a gauze bandage to her small wound and carefully brushing her hair over it so it couldn't be seen.

She nodded, "Lisa. I think this is how she died."

"By someone smashing her head in?" he asked, looking around the empty spot of the room Bonnie was staring at. "What in the bloody hell went on that night?"

Bonnie shook her head as Lisa disappeared. She laid her head on Alec's chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting him embrace her, "I hope you figure it out because she won't be around much longer."

"What do you mean?" he asked, pulling them up from the bed and walking her into the kitchen. He sat her at the table while he fished for a glass of water.

"They don't hang around being seen forever," she explained, still holding her head in pain. "First thing they lose is speech, then feel, then even I can't see them anymore, but they're still hanging around, completely out of touch. If they don't move on first. It usually only happens to the bad ones – I've called it obscurity, like Hell on Earth for those that don't deserve the good place. But sometimes... if someone can't move on for whatever reason, it could happen to them to."

Alec sighed as he set down some pain pills and the glass of water on the table for her. She thanked him quietly and took the pills in one sip but drained the entire glass in nearly one sitting.

"We can't let that happen to her," Alec stated, sitting across from her and leaning his elbows on the table. "I have to solve this – I have to put it away."

"You and Ellie will," she reached across the table to take his hand. "You caught Joe."

"Yeah, and he might walk the way things are going in that bloody circus of a trial," he snarled to the air.

"He won't," Bonnie tried to assure him. "The confession's back in. The jury can't ignore that."

"But that bloody Susan Wright woman is going to mess everything up," he remarked. "The woman is a pathological liar – was even during questioning about Danny. Trying to incriminate Nigel Carter, thinks he's somehow like his father, or she just wants to get back at him for not wanting anything to do with her."

"What is the situation there?" she asked. "Nige said she's his birth mother, and he clearly doesn't like her. And he didn't seem surprised that she accused him in court – like she's done it before. I knew he was a person of interest towards the end of the investigation. Was that because of her?"

Alec nodded, "She claimed he was the one on the beach that night back then too. He said she was harassing him since she came to Broadchurch. She used to be called Elaine Jones, had a husband and two daughters..."

"What happened?" she prompted him.

"Her husband was having a sexual relationship with the older girl," he revealed. Bonnie's other hand flew to her mouth in shock, but she let him continue. "He killed her when she got between him and the younger sister, and supposedly told Wright that she went traveling. Police found her body, arrested him. He said she'd known the whole time. There was an investigation into her but no prison time." He paused, stroking the back of Bonnie's hand with his thumb. "She was pregnant with Nigel at the time of the investigation. But Social Services took him, and he got adopted here. Once the law changed, and birth parents could make contact, she tracked him down. It's all a bloody mess."

"We just have to stay positive," she told him. "You've done your job, made your arrest, and provided all you need to provide to the prosecutor. It's in the jury's hands now with Joe Miller. You get to focus on Sandbrook and closing that case."

"You should stay in today and rest," he replied, squeezing her hand then. "You don't need to be in court, they're not going to call you up again."

"I don't know about that, I saw the wheels turning in Bishop's eyes," she remarked. "She'll probably want to discredit me, so she doesn't look like the bitch who attacked a nice girl like me on the stand during the murder trial of an eleven-year-old boy." After a pause, she stood up with a sigh, "But I have to go. Be there for Nige while his mother accuses him of murder. Be there for Beth and Mark after the show my mom put on yesterday. But I'll rest up a bit before I have to show. You and Ellie are checking into the bridesmaid Cate said Ricky was with at the wedding, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. We need to figure out where Ricky really was while he daughter and niece were being murdered."

She bent over him to give the top of his head a kiss, "You will. You both will."

* * *

"You don't have to come with me to question this woman," Alec told Ellie as he met her at her old house.

"No, I want to," she insisted, leaning limply against the front window. She had just seen Tom for the first time in weeks due to Lucy's insistence and it hadn't gone well. He was convinced that his dad was innocent and refused to come back to live with her. "My life has all gone to shit. At least fixing your mess gives me a distraction."

"Are you going to move back in here?" he asked, looking around the practically abandoned house.

"Only when I've got Tom back. Are we going or not?" she asked, wanting to get out of the house.

"Right," he said, heading towards the door. He paused at the doorway and told her, "Listen, remember those bruises Bonnie got from reliving Danny's death?"

Ellie flinched at the pain she and Danny had both gone through due to her husband's actions. "Yes, I remember."

"Well, the same happened with Lisa this morning," he told her. "She's okay, I patched her up and gave her something for the pain. She woke up before it got too bad. But now we know how Lisa Newbury was killed."

"How then?" Ellie asked.

"Her head was smashed into a wall – repeatedly," he revealed.

* * *

Tiffany the Bridesmaid was surprised and bit wary when Ellie and Alec approached her at the florist place she worked at. But she didn't run, just asking, "Where did you say you were from?"

"South Mercia police. We're looking at an old case," Alec lied calmly.

Ellie interview her, "On 14 April 2012, were you the bridesmaid for Martin and Esther Kelly's wedding at Longthorne Hotel?"

Tiffany twisted her lips in thought, "I don't know if that was the date, but I was at the wedding."

"Did you have sex with a man called Ricky Gillespie that night?" Alec asked bluntly.

She gaped at him, completely taken aback, "Wow, you don't mess about!" She shifted on her other foot, "You mean Ricky whose girl was killed?" They both nodded, and she went on to explained what happened that night, "Yeah. No, I didn't. I mean, he tried it on. He was after me all night. He even followed me to my room when I went to change my shoes, cos my heels were killing me, and he had this little silver hip flask. He kept trying to make me have a drink with him, but I threw him out. A bit much. He was there with his wife. The last I saw, he was heading back through the car park."

"How long was he in your room for?" Alec asked.

She shrugged, "Five or ten minutes. I didn't see him for the rest of the evening."

Later once they got back to Broadchurch, Ellie and Alec discussed the case, trekking down the cliffs before they had to go to court.

"Cate Gillespie was wrong. Ricky wasn't with another woman," Alec asked.

Ellie speculated aloud, "Nobody saw him for two hours. Where was he? And who takes a hip flask to a wedding? Do you think he was going to drug her?"

"I haven't heard any reports of him trying that sort of thing," he remarked.

"Claire said that's what Lee used to do to her," Ellie referenced her late-night conversation with Claire. "Do think it's something all four of them used to do?"

"I don't know. When we're done in court today, we'll talk to her," he decided.

* * *

Bonnie sat next to Nige in the stands, hand weaved through his arm to support him while his birth mother got on the stand to defend her accusations against him. She was glad to see that Jocelyn didn't seem worried in the least.

"When was the last time you had your eyesight tested? What about your night vision? Ever had that tested?"

"Never had a test," Susan answered, adopting this smug smart-arse attitude from the very beginning. "But I eat a lot of carrots."

"So, you have no idea how far you can see either in the daytime or at night?" Jocelyn posited.

"I can see the moon and that's a fair distance," she shot back.

"Very good. Can we turn to your son, Mr. Carter?" Jocelyn waved towards the stand where Nige and Bonnie were sitting with Mark and Beth. "You hadn't seen him for 28 years, had you?"

"I know what he looks like, if that's what you're getting at," Susan snarled with a curl in her lip.

"In Mr. Carter's sworn statement to the police he says, 'I don't even know who she is.' 'I don't want anything to do with her,'" Jocelyn read out from her papers on the case transcripts.

"Police got it wrong," Susan retorted with an unearned authority. "Police get it wrong all the time. It's a fact."

The Judge interceded then, taking off her glasses and looking at Susan, completely unimpressed, "It's not, actually. Stick to answering the questions you've been asked, Miss Wright."

Bonnie noticed with glee Miss Bishop and her junior hissing at each other. They didn't expect Susan to be like this on the stand and knew she would be hurting their case.

Susan rolled her eyes at the Judge, "Okay!"

"When you first saw Danny's body on the beach, why didn't you call for an ambulance?" Jocelyn carried on.

Susan scoffed, "A bit late by then."

"You seem very certain," Jocelyn remarked. "Did you check? Are you medically qualified?"

"It was obvious what had happened," Susan said.

"Why didn't you call the police?" Jocelyn asked.

After a pause, and maybe some reluctance, Susan answered, "I didn't want to dump Nigel in it."

"How do you explain police forensics finding four cigarette butts with your DNA on them next to Danny's body?" Jocelyn asked, consorting with her notes.

"I've smoked a lot of cigarettes on that beach," she excused it off.

"Why did you take the skateboard?" Jocelyn asked.

"I thought it might get nicked," she explained nonchalantly.

"It did get nicked, didn't it?" Jocelyn pointed out with a small laugh in her voice. "By you!"

With a glare, Susan said, "I thought the family would want it back."

Nige scoffed next to her and Bonnie squeezed his arm. She whispered, "She's a train wreck. The defense is going to be scrambling."

"Do you know who Maggie Radcliffe is?" Jocelyn asked Susan.

Susan immediately answered, "No."

Jocelyn looked at her notes and responded, "The editor of the Broadchurch Echo. Whose office you broke into around 11.37pm on 24 July 2013 and whom you threatened by saying, and I quote, 'I know men who would rape you.'"

Bonnie and Beth both gasped and looked between Susan and Maggie, completely shocked at that. They hadn't known. Bonnie noticed that the defense hadn't known either, angered by this new revelation.

"Not true," Susan denied without blinking, resting her weight on one foot, relaxed. Like she didn't even care what happened at this point, digging her heels in.

"What's not true?" Jocelyn asked. "You don't know men like that or you do?"

"I never said it!" she denied again.

"Why would she lie?" Jocelyn posited.

She shrugged, stating, "She's a journalist," like she was the devil.

"Right!" Jocelyn laughed aloud, gesturing around the courtroom. "Journalists and police lie and you're the only honest woman here."

Susan smirked, "If you like."

"Isn't it true that every word you have told this court since you stood up in the witness box is a lie?" Jocelyn asked, knowing she was right.

"No," Susan droned.

"You didn't see Nigel Carter. You saw Joe Miller," Jocelyn insisted.

"No!" Susan denied.

"But you want to pin the blame on the son who's rejected you," Jocelyn said.

"No!" Susan almost shouted.

"You've lied to this court time and again, just as you've lied to the police!" Jocelyn retorted.

"No!" Susan yelled.

"Why should the jury believe a single word you say?" Jocelyn asked, exasperated.

Susan paused, anger in her smug features as she jutted her jaw forward and snarled at Jocelyn, "You ain't all that."

* * *

Bonnie gave the Latimers and Nige a smile and cheek kisses before walking over to Alec and Ellie on their way out of the courtroom. Alec immediately asked, "How's the head?" as he took her hand and interlaced their fingers.

"Still throbbing a bit," she answered honestly. "I don't think I'm going into work today. Going to rest up at home for a bit."

"Good," he murmured.

"Home," Ellie chuckled. "So domestic. It's nice."

Bonnie smiled, "What's your guys' next move?"

"Talk to Claire," Alec said. "She's been lying so much, we have to get to the truth."

Their conversation was interrupted when Ellie suddenly scowled, seeing Susan walking out. She marched over to the other woman, demanding to know, "Did you enjoy yourself, lying in there?"

Susan just smirked at her, "It's not my husband in the dock. I suppose you knew all along."

"No!" Ellie immediately denied, disgusted at the woman in front of her.

Susan remained smug, "Of course you did. We all know. We all turn a blind eye."

Ellie shook her head, "Not me – that's not what happened."

"Of course not!" Susan retorted sarcastically. "You just keep telling yourself that." As she walked away, Ellie felt eyes on her and looked up to see Beth, Mark, and Nige watching from the second floor, and Lucy watching from halfway down the stairs. She couldn't take the eyes boring into her, assuming and judging or pitying – and she didn't know which was worse. So, she walked off towards the doors.

Alec sighed and looked down at Bonnie, "You going to be all right getting home? No dizziness or nausea?"

She smiled at his concern and shook her head, "No, just a headache. I'll be fine."

"Let me see that it's not bled through," he murmured, twisting around to look at the back of her head and check the bandage. Luckily, it was still white. "Good, good. I won't be long then, I don't think."

"Take your time, this is important," she assured him. "I'll be fine. I won't even go to sleep, I'll just lay around and read or something. I'll see you at home."

"All right," he accepted, giving her a quick kiss before following after Ellie.

After he had gone, Bonnie heard Beth's voice behind her, "What's that on your head, Bon?"

Bonnie turned to see her angry and confused friends standing there. "Huh?"

"Did he do that to you?" Mark demanded protectively, pointing after Alec.

"You tell us he did, and we'll take him in for ya," Nige promised, lip turned up angrily.

"Oh God, no!" Bonnie quickly cut them off. "That's not what happened at all. Alec wouldn't hurt me."

"You don't have to protect him, Bonnie," Beth said, taking her friend's hands.

Bonnie smiled, she was lucky to have them as friends. "Thank you, but I'm not. You remember how I testified that Alec and I kissed after I injured myself during a panic attack? He thought I was in trouble and broke in to save me?"

"Yeah, why?" Mark asked.

"Well, last night I had another panic attack, another nightmare," she embellished the truth for them. "I thrashed around so much that I hit my head on the nightstand. Nearly gave poor Alec a heart attack thinking I'd fatally wounded myself. But it's just a bump and little cut. I'm fine."

Beth seemed relieved, while Mark and Nige still seemed wary. Nige asked, "You'd tell us if he was hurting you, yeah?"

"I wouldn't stay in that kind of situation," Bonnie assured them. "But I will go home and rest – as Alec made me promise to do so, so he didn't rush me to the hospital this morning. I'll see you all later?"

"Right," Beth nodded, squeezing her hands before letting go as they all left the courthouse and dispersed.

* * *

As they drove to Claire's house, Ellie was obviously still gutted about what transpired at the courthouse, staring ahead at the road.

"Are you all right?" Alec asked.

"They'll always think I knew," she muttered. "No matter what the verdict, they'll always think I was in on it."

"Just give them time," he said.

"Oh, brilliant!" she lamented sarcastically. "Thanks for that shitty platitude. That's fixed everything!" After a pause, she asked, "Does Claire know we're coming?

"No."

When they arrived, they skipped pleasantries and sat Claire down at the kitchen table. "I want you to tell me what you told Miller about that night."

Claire gave Ellie a betrayed look, "That was supposed to be between us."

Ellie shook her head, "There are no secrets between him and me."

Claire now gave Alec a loaded look, "Oh! Is that right?"

"Claire, I don't care what you've said before. I want the truth now," Alec demanded. He was tired of the lies dragging this case out. Families needed closure. Lisa's spirit needed closure.

Claire let out a big sigh. "That night I went to see a friend, Marie, like I told you before. Except... I didn't stay over. I came home, and I had a drink with Lee. I think he spiked my drink with Rohypnol. I was out for a long time and when I woke, it was morning. He was cleaning."

"What sort of cleaning?" he questioned her.

"Bathroom. Washing linen. Hoovering. Washing floors," she described. "He said he fancied a spring clean."

Ellie chimed in, "So, he's drugged you, now he's cleaning the house and the next morning two girls get reported missing from next door, but you don't think to tell anyone?"

"I didn't want to think it was possible," Claire told her.

"What about now? Do you think he could have killed those girls?" Ellie asked her.

"No," she insisted.

Alec looked at her, "This is now the third version of that night you've come up with. Why couldn't you tell me this before?"

"I didn't want you knowing what he used to do," Claire justified herself. Alec suddenly reached across the table and grabbed the mobile he'd gotten her. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

He clicked through her outgoing calls until he got to the unknown number and showed her, "Whose number's that?"

"I don't know. It was an incoming call. It was a wrong number," she answered.

"It was an outgoing call," he pointed out.

"Because I called it back to check and it just rang and-" she babbled.

But he cut her off, "This area code, that's where you lived with Lee."

"Now I feel I'm being questioned!" she accused them, looking between them like they were ganging up on an innocent woman.

"Too bloody right!" Alec agreed with her. "You were my key witness and now you say you're lying all along."

"I'm not lying!" she insisted.

"What, then?" he asked.

"Trying to protect him," she folded her arms.

"Him or yourself?" he retorted.

She glared at him, "That's not fair!"

"So, this is now definitively, this is what happened that night?" he questioned her, not taking his eyes off of her face.

"Yes," she drawled out.

"Really?" he asked. They just stared at each other for a moment. "Claire?"

She averted her eyes. "There is erm... He was here when you went away, and we had sex upstairs."

Ellie groaned, "What, Claire?!"

"You left me alone, Alec," Claire blamed him before looking at Ellie, "I've told you, he's like a drug. I can't stop myself! I can't!"

Alec suddenly stood and started making his way out, "Come on, Miller."

"Are you going? I don't want to be on my own," Claire begged.

"Child care. Sorry," Ellie stood.

"What happens now, then?" Claire asked her.

"Miller!" Alec called from the door, prompting her to follow him out of the house.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	10. Chapter 10: Agriservices

CHAPTER TEN

AGRISERVICES

Bonnie's migraine had only grown exponentially as the big carnival got all set up in the grassy field by her and Alec's house. The noises and the lights just grated on her, finding a way to annoy her. And she wasn't easily annoyed. Usually, she'd greet them all with a smile and maybe even plan to drag Alec out to play some games and get cotton candy or something. But not now with the splitting pain in the back of her head.

To distract herself, Bonnie had been getting lost in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak when she noticed some peeking into the living room through the window-doors. Startled, she looked up from her reclined position on the couch and noticed Ricky Gillespie at the door. When he noticed her, he gave her a little wave. Slowly and warily, she approached the door and opened it, "What are you doing here, Mr. Gillespie?"

"Is Hardy here?" he asked.

"He's working," she answered warily. "What are you doing here?"

He raised his hands defensively, "I came to apologize to him. For the other night. And—and you, as well. I never should have raised my hand to you."

Still feeling like she was standing on the edge of a cliff with this man who may or may not be a killer, she decided to placate him. "Well, I shouldn't have gotten involved. It was a nerve-wracking night meeting my boyfriend's ex-wife and daughter."

"And then I show up making a fuss," he finished with a rueful grin. "I'm sorry."

She nodded, hiding her nervousness, "It's all right. I understand that you must still be so affected by... what happened. That doesn't go away."

"You would know," he remarked. "I understand that you knew the boy that was killed here."

She nodded again, "Yeah, I did. It's always hard."

* * *

Alec inwardly groaned as he trekked through the carnival outside his house, Ellie pushing Fred in his stroller alongside him, smiling and awing at everything. "Oh, bumper cars, Hardy!" she exclaimed. She smiled at all the lights and rides and games. "I think this is brilliant! Did you not know this was going to be behind your house?"

"The rental company forgot to mention it when I took it on," he grunted, unimpressed and thoroughly annoyed.

Ellie laughed and peeked in on her son, "Oh, Fred, we could go on the teacups, couldn't we? We could take Uncle Alec." She laughed even more at the look on his face.

They walked single line through the gated aisle towards his front gate, before he pushed it open to see Ricky at his doorstep and a nervous looking Bonnie speaking to him from the doorway.

"Ricky, what are you doing here?" he demanded, stepping up and searching Bonnie with his eyes to see if she was all right.

He regarded him with a bit of humor, "Is this really your gaff?" Then he noticed Ellie and put out his hand for her, "Sorry. Ricky Gillespie."

She shook his hand quickly, "Ellie Miller. We work together."

"What are you doing here?" Alec demanded again, relieved when Bonnie came to his side and gave him a smile to reassure him that she was okay, taking his elbow in her hand.

"I came to apologize," Ricky said. "When Cate told me you'd been around, I overreacted."

"A long way to come to say that," Alec commented, not happy to see the man at his house.

"I know Ashworth is down here. You seen him?" Ricky's tone changed. "Tell me where he is."

"Ricky, that won't help anyone," Alec sighed.

"It's eating me up knowing he's back in the country," Ricky said, voice a hiss.

"You really want to help?" Alec asked him, tilting his head towards Ellie. "Talk to Miller here. She's going through the case looking to see if we've missed anything."

Ricky slowly turned his attention to the former DS, "What do you want to know?"

"All right," Bonnie spoke up, poking her head over Freddy in his stroller as the baby grinned and gurgled at her. "Why don't I take Freddy to check out the carnival while you talk?"

"That would be lovely," Ellie said, picking Fred out of his stroller and handing him over. "You're going to have some fun with Auntie Bon-Bon, aren't you, Fred?"

Bonnie smiled as she situated Freddy on her hip, catching Alec's eye. He thought she looked so happy with a child in her arms, and he wasn't even her child. He gave her a small smile as she walked out of the gate with Fred, speaking excitedly with the little boy as he clapped with her.

Ellie and Ricky took seats at the wooden picnic table outside the house while Alec perched himself on the stone steps behind them.

Ellie started with, "Tell me about your daughter Pippa."

"She was my baby girl, you know," he said fondly. "She was sporty. Good runner. Played netball for the school team. Demon at table tennis. Competitive. Didn't like losing. I always spoilt her. My only child."

"What did she want to be when she grew up?" Ellie asked.

"It kept changing," he said. "The last few months it was err... hairdresser."

Did that have anything to do with Claire next door?

Alec and Ellie immediately thought of Claire but didn't say so.

"The night both girls disappeared, you were at a wedding with Cate. You were together all night?" Ellie questioned.

"I had to look after her. She was pissed. Sign of things to come, 'ey?" he remarked. And of course, he was right. Cate was now an alcoholic.

Alec felt his vision go hazy for a second, his chest feeling tight. He groaned, breathing heavily and standing up to go to the edge of his stoop by the water, ignoring the looks he got from Ricky and Ellie. He could feel that he was getting worse and worse – his condition. And it got him thinking.

"And tell me about Lisa," Ellie prompted.

"She was my niece. Tricky relationship with her dad. Still uses her mum's surname," he described.

"She babysat for you quite regularly?" Ellie questioned.

He nodded, "Every other week. Sometimes she'd stay over, other times I'd take her home."

"Did she have a boyfriend?" she asked.

"No-one regular," he shook his head.

Ellie tried to keep her tone even as she asked, "Did you fancy her, Ricky?"

He looked at her, hard in the face, "She was my niece."

Ellie gave him an apologetic smile and said, "I had to ask."

He glared at her and said, "No, you didn't."

After that, he made his way out and Alec and Ellie stood by the gate, watching him leave. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec could see Bonnie playing a smack the weasel game with Fred in her arms, helping him hold the plastic mallet and wack at the toy animals poking out of holes. Fred was squealing every time he made contact with something and she cheered him on. It looked like such a natural sight to behold.

"She's so good with him," Ellie commented, watching the scene as well. "Do you think you'll have children with her?"

Alec gave her a look, "Did she tell you we've been talking 'bout it?"

Ellie's eyebrows shot to her forehead, "You have!? Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?"

He shrugged, "We don't talk about that kind of stuff." They quieted as Ricky finally disappeared from view. "You all right?"

"Fine," she answered. "How much did you look into Ricky at the time?"

"He had a solid alibi," he said. "He and Cate said they were at the wedding together."

"She's changed her story and the florist confirmed it. Looks like he's lying," Ellie surmised.

"Looks that way," he agreed.

"So, who are our suspects?" she asked.

"Got Ashworth, Ricky, Claire, and that stalker on the estate. Possibly Cate," he listed off readily.

"That's right – don't trust anyone," she remarked.

He looked at her looking at Fred and Bonnie. "You should go. Take Fred. Sleep."

She sighed, "I don't sleep much at the moment, and I don't like my flat and I want to take a proper look at all your files."

"Don't get pulled into this," he warned her off. "This case has done enough damage to people."

She shook her head, "Not me. I'm going to solve it. I'm going to need your wall."

When Bonnie noticed them standing, she and Freddy ended their game and made their way over. Soon, the girls and little boy went into the house. Ellie started going through Hardy's files and pinning clues and information to the wall of the small living room while Bonnie set Freddy up on the couch with his toys. Ellie looked over at the other woman, "I hope you don't mind. I realize this is your house now too."

Bonnie smiled at her indulgently, "Of course, I don't mind. I'm surprised Alec hasn't already done this all yet."

Ellie nodded and kept working. "He let it slip that you've talked about having kids. That's wonderful."

"He did?" she remarked, surprised. "Well, yeah. And would you believe that he was the one who broached the subject first?"

Ellie gaped at her, "No! Really? I wouldn't think him the type!"

"He does already have a daughter," Bonnie pointed out.

"I know but he's older now and you've complained about how much he complains about the age difference," she said.

"I've addressed that with him," Bonnie said. "He knows I don't care that he's older than me. We both know that we want to be together for the foreseeable future. And he seems to come around more to liking the idea of us having our own family."

Bonnie heard a small groan outside and splash and called out, "Alec, honey, you all right!?"

"All right!" he called back. "I'm going for a walk!"

Bonnie stood and poked her head out the door to see him slipping on his coat. "It's getting late."

"I won't be long, I promise," he said, walking up to her and cupping her face. "I love you. Very much."

She smiled, if a little unsure why he was being so serious and open all of the sudden, "I love you too. Be safe. Call if you're going to be late?"

"I will," he said before leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

Jocelyn Knight was pouring over her notes with her glasses over her nose when a knock on the glass of her backdoor startled and she looked to see Alec standing there, "Oh, for heaven's sake! I need a lock put on that gate."

"You busy?" he asked.

She gave him a look, "Of course I'm busy. I'm in the middle of a trial! What do you want?"

"Could you do my will?"

She was surprised to get the request, but soon found herself hunched in front of her computer at the table with him as he dictated the terms of his last will and testament. "Anyone would think I was a high-street solicitor." She paused at their place deep into the details. "It's not exactly complicated. Thirty percent of your pension and all your personal effects to Miss Irving. Everything else to your daughter. Held till she is 18. Hm, lucky girl."

"You got kids?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I never married."

"That through choice?"

She looked at him with a chuckle, "What is this, a police interview?"

"No. Sorry. Just conversation," he replied honestly.

Surprised at his genuine attitude. "Well... Things were complicated, and I made... I made them more so. I was at a point when I, when I should have been strong, and I wasn't, and I missed the person I was supposed to be with."

"Did you ever tell him?" he asked, curious.

She looked back at her computer screen, "No."

"Maybe you should," he remarked, thinking about how short life felt. There was still so much he wanted to do. He wanted to watch his daughter finish growing up. He wanted to marry Bonnie, and possibly have children with her if he could. He wanted to solve Sandbrook. He wanted a long and happy life.

Jocelyn's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "It's always easy to recognize mistakes in hindsight. Much harder to fix them now. Anyway, why do you... why do you need this now?"

"Just putting things right," he hedged. "What's your sense of the trial?"

She sat up straighter, "Susan Wright was a mistake for the defense. It makes them look like amateurs. Not going into the witness box is going to damage Miller's credibility. The confession is back in, but the jury still witnessed all the argument about it."

"He has GOT to be convicted," he emphasized.

She gave him a look, "I don't need you to tell me that! I'll do the best I can with what I have."

* * *

The sun was starting to come up when Alec finally made his way home. When he arrived, his whole living room was in disarray, and Ellie poked her head up from the floor like a pop-goes-the-weasel and started a rapid fire of information and questions, "Shh! Did you see this scribbled on the back of an old vehicle check form? Thorp Agriservices. What's that? Have you come across that? And next to it, Gary Thorp, dash, Lee Ashworth, question mark."

"Have you been here all night?" he asked.

"Yeah, I suppose I have," she responded dubiously. "Fred is sleeping in the bedroom with Bon. Shh!"

"I need a cup of tea," he groaned.

But before he could go into the kitchen, Ellie embarrassingly told him, "Ah, you're out of teabags and milk and I've used the last of the bread."

Instead of getting mad and sniping at her, he decided to lope into the bedroom, tossing his coat on the couch as he went. He paused when he saw Bonnie stretched out on her side of the bed with little Freddy cuddled up to her side. She looked so beautiful, and very peaceful. As he moved through the room to start changing out his clothes, he heard her start shifting and groaning in her sleep, turning in time to see her eyes open.

She frowned when she saw him, "Hey. You were supposed to call."

"I know, I'm sorry," he whispered, conscious of the sleeping baby in their bed. "I got a bit aimless."

"All night?" she questioned, carefully sitting up without displacing Fred.

He sat down on the foot of the bed next to her, "What do you really think about the operation?"

"The pacemaker?" she wondered. "I think it's your life and your choice."

Wordlessly, he listened and then pulled a little white box out of his pant pocket, placing it on the bed. She eyed it as he lifted the lid and she saw a thin gold band with rose-gold rose decals and a rectangular ruby stone in the center of it. She gasped at the sight, lightly, as he pulled it out of the cushion inside the box and started sliding it onto her third finger. "It's from my mum's family, but not really an engagement ring. I thought you might still like it."

"It's beautiful," she confirmed, smiling at it. She gave him a look underneath her smile though, "You know you're supposed to ask a question here, right?"

He playfully narrowed his eyes at her, but spoke in a soft, clear voice, asking, "Bonnie Kenneth Irving, will you marry me?"

He would never forget the still-sleepy smile she gave him when she leaned over and pressed her lips to his again and again, whispering her answer, "Yes," as she kissed him that morning.

Clasping their hands together as they pulled away, he spoke more seriously, "Now as my fiancé, how do you really feel about the operation? Be honest."

Sighing slowly, Bonnie voiced her thoughts and fears about his condition and the procedure he was considering getting done. "Well, I'll still support you no matter what. But I see every day that no matter the situations or amount of stress, that your symptoms are getting worse. I can only imagine how bad they'll get with time since I know it's just not you to walk away from active investigating, even after closing Sandbrook. I know the surgery itself is risky, but as time goes by it seems just as risky to not get it done."

"So, you think I should?" he asked, not hearing a straight answer.

She looked at him, "I think you've already chosen to, and want me to agree." She reached up to cup his tired face, "I love you. And I'm scared of losing you to either your condition or the operation. You should do it."

He gave her a grateful smile and hugged her to him as the sun continued to rise, "Thank you. I love you too."

* * *

"I couldn't find any note of Thorp Agriservices ever being cross-checked," Ellie remarked as the detectives walked along the cliffs, Alec pushing Fred's stroller.

"I don't think I've ever heard of it," Alec said.

"I went through that stuff Lee Ashworth gave you. It's all useless or irrelevant."

"He's just trying to put us off the scent," Alec remarked.

"How far did you ever look into Lisa Newbery?"

Alec looked over at her, "How do you mean?"

"Well, we know a bit of what happened to her now. But that nightmare Bon had doesn't explain everything. The last use of Lisa's bank account was at 3.54pm on the day she disappeared before she went to babysit. The last call was made at 5.17pm on her mobile to her mum. Then no more cash withdrawals or calls made after that, but her phone was on for another 18 hours. The last signal triangulated in Portsmouth. How did her phone get to Portsmouth? Were any of our suspects near Portsmouth then?"

"No, we checked. We know all this," he replied tiredly.

* * *

"Was anyone with you that night?" Sharon bishop started her interrogation of Nige without preamble.

"No."

"Did anyone see you?" she asked.

"No."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow like a scolding mother. "So, nobody can corroborate your story?"

"Only the pheasants I poached," he joked.

"Is this funny to you, Mr. Carter?"

He instantly sobered and shook his head, "Not at all."

She hummed under her breath and added, "Your own mother identified you with Danny's body, didn't she?"

"If I killed Danny, then where is my DNA on him, 'ey? Where are my prints at the hut?" Nige poised for her. He thought this whole show was ridiculous. They all knew who really killed Danny.

"Who said you killed him?" Sharon asked, to the surprise of the man in the box, and the others in the courtroom. "I'm not suggesting you killed Danny. I am suggesting that you put his body on the beach where Susan Wright saw you. Isn't that correct?"

"No!" he protested loudly.

"Thank you," Sharon said smugly, as if he'd agreed with her.

Nige tried to beseech to Mark, "Mate..." but he was corralled off of the witness box before he could get another word in edgewise.

* * *

Alec was surprised to see Lee's name on his phone when it rang as he was returning home after Bonnie had already left for work. "What?"

"Did you tell Ricky Gillespie where I was working?" Lee's voice greeted him.

"No, why?"

"Because he's come for me."

Alec had to drop everything immediately to rush over to where Lee was staying on a farmer's land he was building a fence for. He got there to see that Ricky had already started in on Lee, punching the man repeatedly in the face while he was down on his back on the ground.

"Oh, shit!" Alec cursed as he rushed over. "Ricky, get off him! Ricky!" Ricky didn't stop until Alec had gotten to them and shoved him off. "Get off him. Come on! Do you think that will help?"

He spat on the ground, "I got what I came for." He started walked off, but still bent over Lee and pointed a finger in his face, "You're nothing!"

"Are you going to report it?" Alec asked later as Lee cleaned himself up in the old stone tower up the hill.

"No, what's the point?" Lee retorted.

"Is this where you're sleeping?" Alec said, taking in the tiny structure with blankets set up inside.

"The farmer said I could. I like it," Lee shrugged. It was good enough for him.

"I hear you saw Claire."

"Did you?" Lee replied nonchalantly.

"You two ever use Rohypnol?" Alec asked.

Lee looked off, pausing before answering, "Once."

Alec was surprised he didn't deny it. "Where did you get it from?"

After another pause, he again answered honestly, "Ricky Gillespie. He used to go to Amsterdam, bring back all sorts of stuff."

Alec was even more taken aback, "Ricky gave you Rohypnol?"

Lee nodded, "He did."

"Have you ever heard of a business called Thorp Agriservices?" Alec moved along.

"No."

"You sure about that?" Alec asked again.

Le shrugged, "Unless it's one of the businesses Cate did the books for."

After a small lull passed between them, Alec asked, "Did you ever sleep with Cate?"

Lee looked off, standing with his back towards Alec. "...No."

* * *

Bonnie found it hard to focus on work when she spent most of her time staring at her left ring finger. Seeing the pretty little ruby sitting on her hand gave her butterflies. She was getting married. To the grouchy DI Alec Hardy. If she had thought she would be in this kind of situation even five years ago, she would have called herself nutty. Said things like it was too soon, they'd only been together for less than a year. But the grown-up woman she was now knew that it was right.

She and Megan were getting along famously too. The younger woman had even squealed with her when she revealed her engagement ring. Megan raved about the apartment and the store, saying that Broadchurch seemed like the best place to live and relax while she worked on her master's thesis. Bonnie was glad to see that their arrangement would be working for a while.

She was brought out of her blissful thoughts about life and the future when the bell above her door rang. She lifted her head to greet the new customer, thinking it a student looking for tutoring. But stopped when she saw none other than her Uncle Jay standing in the doorway, awkwardly. She hadn't seen him on skype since Uma had sent her her mother's book. But he looked the same, if a little worse for wear. He was a large man, over six foot with a stocky build. Salt and pepper hair and a great big bushy beard she used to pull on when she was little, and he visited her in the states.

Despite the anger from their last conversation, Bonnie still smiled and rushed to hug him when she saw him. "I'm sorry I blamed you for everything."

"Oh annwyl, it's all right," he murmured as he enclosed her in the biggest bear hug only her Uncle could give. "I had to check in on you myself. Marge still here?"

Bonnie sighed, "Unfortunately," as they pulled away. "She even showed up to the trial. Tried to hire out her services to Beth and Mark. I had to physically walk her out of the courthouse."

Jay sighed with her, dragging hand down his worn face. "I'm sorry Uma caused all this." There was a lull of silence where Bonnie didn't know what to say. Until he added, "We're separated."

Her eyes bugged out of her head, "What? I didn't want to cause a divorce!"

"You didn't cause anything, love," her Uncle assured her. "It was all her. I couldn't take it anymore. She's almost as delusional as your mum – and that's hard to accomplish."

Bonnie frowned, "Are you all right? You're here – did you need a place to stay?"

"I've already checked into the Trader's Hotel," he pointed his thumb back to the place across the street.

"Mom is there too," she warned.

"I'll deal with her," Jay promised. "I was thinking of finding a place closer to here. We're really the only family we've got."

She shrugged, giving him a teasing smirk, "I don't know... there's Dawn and Ty in Glasgow. Marty in Belfast."

He playfully smacked her shoulder, "Very cheeky. Broadchurch ain't that bad, it seems. Contrary to recent events, of course."

"Oh, from my point of view it's pretty amazing," she smiled blindingly, holding up her left hand to wiggle her ring finger at him.

"What is that!?" he guffawed animatedly. She always loved his reactions to good news. It made it all more real for her to see him happy for her. He took hold of her hand and peered inquisitively at the ruby ring. "He must know you pretty well. This ring is you all over."

She smiled as she took her hand back, gazing at the ring, "It was one of his mum's. He thought I'd like it. He was right."

"When did this happen?" he asked. "Have you started planning the ceremony?"

She shook her head, "No plans yet. He asked first thing this morning. We'd been talking about it, about the future in general for us. I think he formally asked now because he's decided to go ahead with surgery for his heart condition. He's getting a pacemaker put in and it's a risky procedure."

"He could die?" Jay questioned.

She nodded sadly, "Yes, he could. But he's well on his way to an early grave if he doesn't do anything."

"I'm sure he'll be all right," Jay said optimistically. "He's got to marry you, after all. Give me some grandbabies."

She blushed but knew Jay would be more of a grandparent to any child she and Alec may have than her mother could ever be. She would be glad to have him in their life. "Let's not rush that part. We're still just talking about it, trying to see what feels right. I really just want him to make it through the surgery first and go get married at a clerk's office or something. No real fuss. I'm sure he wants that too."

"As long as I get to walk you down some aisle," Jay joked joyfully.

* * *

Ellie led Alec through her recent work in the case, all tacked up on the walls of his home, "Thorp Agriservices. I googled it, It's a business in the Sandbrook area five miles from the Gillespie house. I need to go back there to visit this Agriservices place. I could see where you found Pippa and the woods by the river. Fresh eyes – that's what you wanted."

He was about to agree with her plan when Lucy rushed in, "There you are! Don't you answer your phone? I've been looking all over for you." She paused when she saw the appearance of the room, "What the hell is all that stuff?"

"Excuse me. This is my house!" Alec protested.

"What do you want, Luce?" Ellie said, ushering Lucy outside.

"I just want you to know I didn't know he'd done it," Lucy started, preparing her sister for bad news.

"Didn't know he'd done what?" Ellie asked, a cold pit in her stomach.

"Tom is going to give evidence on behalf of Joe," Lucy revealed.

Ellie gaped, "What?"

"He went to see Joe's legal team without my knowing," Lucy explained.

"He can't do that without my permission, can he?" Ellie asked, not knowing how things got so muddled up in life so quickly.

Lucy shrugged, "Apparently, he can. I tried to talk him out of it, but he's dead set on it, Elle."

Ellie turned away from her and called for her sister to go away as she let herself hold in her tears. Reluctantly, Lucy left, hoping that whatever Tom said on the stand didn't break his mother's heart even more than it already was because of Joe Miller.

* * *

Ellie practically narrated her recent thought processes for the case as she drove herself and Alec to what she'd found in Portsmouth, "So, Lisa's phone in Portsmouth. What do you do in Portsmouth apart from being in the navy or looking at ships?"

"Go on, dazzle me," he goaded her.

"You get a ferry to France. Portsmouth to Cherbourg," she said.

He didn't understand her excitement, "So?"

"So, who else was in France?" she posited for him.

He sighed, "Lee Ashworth."

"Exactly," she said as she drove up to the elusive company that had jumped out at her. It looked abandoned. "Okay, this is the place."

"What is it they do?" Alec asked her as they got out of the car and started making their way into the rusting building.

"Services to the agricultural industries. I couldn't find anything more specific than that," she said as they opened the creaking door.

"It doesn't seem like a place Lee Ashworth would be connected to," Alec remarked as he looked around the big empty factory.

"So, what is he not telling us?" Ellie posited. "It looks pretty closed. It must have gone out of business. Let's look round the back."

The whole thing was creaking, only one of the light switches still worked that they tried. Alec held a door open for her, making conversation, "Are you going to talk to Tom before he gets in the box?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

When they walked into the back room, they were both overtaken by a rotten smell. Alec reached up to cover his nose, "What's that smell?"

Ellie groaned as she looked around, "It's blood!" She noticed a large metal sectional structure in the center of the backroom. "What is that?!" They walked closer and she noticed a handle and large door on one side. "Oh, look, here you go."

Working together, they worked the crank on one side of the door until it creaked open. Ellie gasped when she saw a pile of dirty ashes inside. "Oh, God. It's a furnace."

"Agricultural services – they burned dead animals here," Alec said. Was this place why Lisa's body was never found?

* * *

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	11. Chapter 11: Do You Take Me?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DO YOU TAKE ME?

Alec was getting lost in the memories of finding Pippa's freezing, water-soaked body as he showed Ellie the very site. Gesturing to their surroundings, he distracted himself with telling her about the area, "There's a narrow lane about 500 yards in that direction. This footpath and the lane were both examined by Forensics for tire tracks and footmarks, but they never got anything useful."

"It's a long way to carry a body without being noticed," she observed, hands in her pockets.

"This stretch was never used much, even by the dog walkers," he told her.

She pursed her lips, "So, the killer had enough local knowledge to realize the chances of being spotted were low."

He nodded, "Other access points are through those woods there. What time's Tom due in the box?"

* * *

Bonnie picked at the pilling of her father's knit sweater she wore as she stood with Mark and Beth, waiting for the day in court to begin. With her other hand, she chewed at her thumbnail. She was very nervous. Alec told her that morning that he'd scheduled the procedure for tomorrow. And he wanted her there. She told him there was nothing he could do to keep her away. She just hoped she didn't have a heart attack waiting for him to come out and wake up.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed Tom. She still couldn't believe he was testifying. His Aunt Lucy kept hold of his hand as Abby walked them through the courthouse to the courtroom.

"Why have they called Tom?" Beth asked.

"Son's love for a father – that sort of thing, I expect," their junior barrister guessed aloud.

* * *

"We could have got back in time," Alec mentioned as they trekked through the woods.

Ellie averted her eyes sadly, "Tom said if I was there, he'd ask from the witness box for me to be removed."

"God, I'm sorry," he murmured.

After a pause, she asked, "Are you all right?"

He looked around, still haunted, "I walked through here just before I found Pippa."

"So how far are we from where the Gillespies live?" she asked.

He thought on it, "Err... Just over three miles."

"And you think Pippa's body could have been brought through here?" she wondered aloud.

"That's what I always thought but it was impossible to know," he said. "It was spring so this whole area was covered in bluebells."

"And Claire Ripley's being sent bluebells through the post," she observed.

"Or she's sending them to herself," he theorized. "Hiding it in a wardrobe in a guest room, where it might be found."

"Why would she do that?" Ellie didn't understand the motive in such behavior.

"To screw around with us," he sniped. "It's what they all do – her and Ashworth, even the Gillespies. I don't think any one of them told the whole truth."

"The stress they've put you under, do it to them and start with Claire," she suggested before her mobile beeped in her bag. She pulled it out and read the text from her sister with a sigh. "It's from Lucy. Tom's going in the witness box."

* * *

"Do you get along with your dad, Tom?"

Even questioning the young boy, Bonnie thought Bishop was being curt. But she didn't care. She just wanted to move through his testimony and get on with the real trial. She didn't want Tom to be so dragged into it all.

It was sad to see Tom looking longingly at his dad. "I love him."

"Has he ever made you do anything that made you feel uncomfortable?" Sharon asked.

"No."

"Were you aware of any contact between Danny and your dad?" she interrogated.

"No. Danny was my friend, not his," Tom disputed.

"The day Danny's body was found; how did your dad behave?" she carried on.

"Normally," Tom shrugged. "I got home from school and he made me tea."

"How was he the days after?" she added.

"He was upset... like we all were," he qualified.

Sharon then changed subjects entirely, "Now, how did you get to know Susan Wright?" confusing everyone.

Even Tom looked confused. "Erm... Right, I met her in the arcade. I liked her dog, Vince. She let me visit her caravan."

"Have you ever met anyone else in that caravan?"

Bonnie heard and felt Mark tense on the other side of Beth as he quickly tried to whisper to his wife, "Beth, listen..."

But he couldn't finish before the Judge gave him a silencing look and Tom answered. "Yes. Danny's dad, Mark."

Beth looked at her husband, completely shocked, "What's he talking about?"

"Nothing," Mark whispered.

"He said that... we could meet, and other people don't have to know," Tom said. It made it sound almost parallel to Joe and Danny – but Bonnie knew that wasn't the case.

"What did you do with Mark?" Sharon asked.

Tom shrugged, "We played FIFA on the PlayStation."

"Did you ever talk about Danny?"

"Yes. He said he was guilty," Tom revealed.

"Guilty of what?" Sharon prompted him.

Tom stared between Mark and his father, "He said... Danny's death was his fault."

She gaped, her jaw falling to the floor. Beth was gaping too. Even Mark's jaw fell open in disbelief as he whispered, "What?!"

* * *

Mark and Beth hovered in the stairwell. Beth looked up at him, seeing him about to fall apart. "That's where you were all those times I was calling."

"It made me feel close to Dan," he whispered, tears cascading down his face. Beth immediately leaned up to hug his neck and hold him close, letting him cry into her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

They pulled apart when they heard Jocelyn's echoing steps approaching. She didn't look impressed by the recent development, more frustrated. "It doesn't help me if I don't know these things."

Mark wiped at his face, "I never thought it would be a part of this. I'm sorry."

"Everything's a part of it, Mark," she insisted.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked, wondering where this left them.

Jocelyn sighed, "Try and take Tom Miller apart... kindly, precisely, so... the jury don't hate me... or you."

* * *

Alec listened to the phone start to ring out as he waited for Claire to answer. "Hello?"

"It's me," he greeted her in clipped tones. "I think – we are done."

"What?" Her voice piqued.

"I was protecting you from Lee, you don't want that anymore," he told her. "You keep changing your story about what happened. This isn't working, I need you to move out."

She started breathing quicker, sounding desperate, "Alec, where are you? Let's talk about this face-to-face."

"No, I'm giving you 48 hours."

"What's going on? You can't do that!" she yelled.

"I can. It's over, Claire. Okay?" He didn't wait for an answer before he hung up. It was probably best to get rid of her quickly whether this made her slip up or not. Claire was baggage he wanted to drop before he started his new life with Bonnie.

* * *

Jocelyn Knight kept her voice soft and gentle while talking to Tom. She couldn't be the bad guy and she didn't want to destroy this young boy who just wanted his family back together. "Tom, you know, don't you, that when someone is found guilty of murder they go to prison for a number of years?"

"Yes."

"You love your dad very much, don't you?" She tried to give him a gentle smile, make him feel safe.

Tom picked up that she was trying to get him to incriminate his father somehow, even if he didn't understand how. "He's a great dad."

"But you know that telling lies, even to protect someone you love, is wrong?" she told him more than asked him.

He frowned, "I'm not lying for my dad."

"Tom, I'm suggesting that that's exactly what you are doing," she said softly.

He shook his head, "No."

"Mark Latimer didn't say he killed Danny, did he?" she told him.

"He said he was guilty," Tom insisted with a whimper.

"Did he say he 'was' guilty, or he 'felt' guilty? There's a big difference," she asked him to qualify the truth, trying to get him to admit he was lying.

"My dad wouldn't have killed Danny," Tom hedged around the question, looking desperately to his father in the box.

She nodded along, "So let me ask you... has every single word you've said to this court been absolutely, 100% true? Tom?"

He averted his eyes, face red and eyes welling up, "I think so."

Jocelyn frowned as kindly as she could, "I'm sorry, 'I think so' isn't good enough. The court needs you to be certain. This isn't about your dad. This is about your friend Danny. Because Danny can't speak up for himself any more. So, our job is to find out what Danny would say if he was here. You see that, don't you, Tom?"

"Yes," he whimpered.

"We all want justice for Danny," she added. "So, let me ask you again. Has every word you've said here been 100% true? Did Mark Latimer say he 'was' guilty?"

Tom took a moment, struggling, staring at his father, at Jocelyn, at Sharon, at Mark. He finally caved and whispered, "No. I'm sorry," with a crack in his voice.

Quietly, Jocelyn nodded to him with a kind smile, "Thank you, Tom."

* * *

Alec's heel bounced on the floor of the small deli as he sat across from his ex-wife, channeling his DI persona. "I want the details of the stalker that was seen around the estate in the weeks before the girls disappeared."

She grinned, pulling out a flash drive and handing it over, "And against my better judgment I put all the statements – four sightings in the week before – on here."

"Thank you," he accepted it and put it in his pocket. "Plus, all CCTV collected from the case. And there's a company – Thorp AgriServices. If we could send a forensics team-"

She cut him off, "Uh-uh. Stop. No forensics teams, nothing official. I'm pushing as it is. Do not drop me in it."

He nodded, averting his eyes to the counter. "Erm... I'm going into hospital tomorrow – pacemaker."

Her face dropped, "Bloody hell. Are you all right with that?"

He nodded, "If anything happens, I've made a will."

"You are worried," she realized. "Have you told Daisy?"

He nodded. "Bonnie's agreed to keep her updated on things. And take care of things – should it be necessary."

"You two really are serious, aren't you?" she guessed. "She seemed like a wonderful woman. Daisy sang her praises after dinner."

He nodded again, fighting an awkward smile. "I've asked her to marry me."

Tess gaped at him, "You what? That was quick."

"No time to waste, is there?" he posited with a shrug, leaning back in his bench. "And this way she can be at the hospital with me without fuss. It's... time. It's right."

"I'm glad for you," Tess murmured. "Well erm... good luck."

* * *

"Right, these are the accounts for the last seven years," Ricky said as Ellie and Cate sat in the living room of the Gillespie house, dropping a pile of binders on the coffee table.

Ellie thanked him quietly before turning to Cate, "Oh, do you remember ever doing any work for a company called Thorp AgriServices?"

"I don't think so," the woman mumbled from the chair, glass of wine in hand.

Ricky looked at the dark red drink, "I'm surprised you remember anything, the amount of that you put away."

She looked up at him lethargically, "Are you still here?"

Sensing the tension mounting, Ellie looked around and grabbed a framed picture of Pippa, "Oh, that's a beautiful picture."

Cate smiled minutely, "It's my favorite one of her."

"And that pendant, is that the one that was found in Ashworth's car – the missing bit of evidence?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ricky said.

Knocking from the backyard door startled them to look over and see Alec there. "The side gate was open. Sorry, I got a bit delayed."

Ellie quickly stood, "Ah. Don't worry, I was just about to... go outside anyway." As the former detectives walked into the backyard, Ellie pulled her mobile out and clicked through it. "No texts, Lucy's not answering her phone, and Olly's not tweeting court updates."

"Well, maybe the court's still sitting," he told her, but he was worried to. He hadn't heard from Bonnie since the morning, and felt the case was spoiling their post-engagement bliss.

"I need to get back. I need to know what's happened," she murmured.

"Did you ask Cate about Thorp AgriServices?" he distracted her.

"Yeah, she denied all knowledge." Ellie watched as Alec walked to the gate separating Gillespie's yard from Claire and Lee's and felt along the wood. She asked, "What are you doing?" She understood when part of the gate gave way and opened like a door. She stepped up, peering into the next-door backyard. "Ah. Do all the gardens have those?"

"No, it was put in by Lee Ashworth. With Ricky and Cate's approval," he said, looking around.

"Why did they never have it removed? It's for kids to go in and out of each other's gardens, not grown-ups," she observed. "Lee and Claire didn't have any kids. Why have they got that?"

Ellie and Alec felt eyes on them and turned to see Cate standing in the door, just staring with her glass of wine in hand. Something weird had gone on. They were all lying.

* * *

It was late when Alec got home, seeing Bonnie curled up on the bed. Like she had some sort of radar on him, she instantly blinked her eyes awake when he walked in. She smiled when she saw him, "Hey. I wasn't sure you'd make it before morning."

"Got an early start on the road," he murmured lightly, sitting at her side on the bed. "How was court today?"

She sighed, "As well as it could've gone, I guess. Tom was trying to incriminate Mark – but Jocelyn stopped it. The jury knows he was lying. But now she's got to call Mark on the stand to explain his side. Apparently, he's been meeting Tom secretly in Susan's Wright's caravan."

"No bloody way," he reacted. "Why would he go and do that?"

"Beth said it made him feel closer to Danny, to be there for his best friend," she explained. "I get it. But I don't think it was a good idea. It looks bad at trial. I'm sure Bishop will be jumping for joy."

He sighed, laying his hand on hers, "You should go back to sleep."

"Only if you join me," she squeezed his hand with a smile. "You need your rest for tomorrow."

* * *

Bright and early, Ellie started on her way to Claire's house to see what she was doing. She pulled over when she saw Claire standing in the middle of the fields outside the little house. "Are you all right? What are you doing?"

"Has he told you what he's done?!" Claire shouted across the field.

Ellie nodded as she approached the other woman, "Yeah."

"Oh, right," the woman spat spitefully. "So, he's sent you along, has he? His pet, Ellie."

"I just came to see how you were doing," Ellie ignored her tone.

Claire scoffed, "I put my life in his hands and he dragged me here to this shithole – hid me away! I put my trust in him. I've done nothing wrong and he just drops me like that." She let out a huff, staring out at the grass before turning to Ellie and asked, "Can I come and live with you?"

Ellie grimaced, "That wouldn't work – I live in a tiny little studio flat near the station in Devon."

"What about your house in town?" Claire asked.

"No," Ellie denied her.

"Why not?" Claire asked selfishly.

"I don't want you living there," Ellie said.

"I thought we were friends," Claire rebutted. Like she couldn't believe Ellie wouldn't help her.

Ellie gave her a look of disbelief, "Really? I think you've been playing all of us."

Claire frowned, wounded, "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know," Ellie shrugged. She wasn't protecting Claire anymore – or believing in her.

"Well, I haven't done that," Claire denied. "I swear, I have not done that. And he's just jealous because I've slept with Lee."

"Why would he be jealous?" Ellie chuckled. "He's got Bonnie."

"Who?" Claire asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Ellie frowned curiously, "His girlfriend. He met her here in Broadchurch. They're living together."

Claire gaped, "He never mentioned her to me. This whole time."

Ellie changed the subject, "Look, either you want protecting from Lee or you don't. You can't have it both ways."

Claire looked away, "I said, when I see him, I just lose myself. It's... it's the sex, Ellie. It's just... something happens when we're together."

Ellie scoffed, "Oh, please. Have a little self-control." She shifted on her feet and said, "Look, if you want to be my friend, you tell me everything – the truth, past and present – and then maybe I'll have a little word with Hardy about you."

Claire nodded reluctantly, "Fine. I will. You come over and we'll talk. And maybe I can do your hair."

"What?" Ellie hadn't expected that request.

"Well, it's... I-I haven't done anybody's hair in a long time. Please?" she pleaded.

"All right," Ellie hesitantly agreed.

* * *

Bonnie was slightly surprised to feel Alec spooning her when they woke up. Often, she made to cuddle with him while they fell asleep, but they'd separate sometime overnight. But this morning, he was still close to her, clutching at her like a security blanket. As he groaned, she turned in his arms and gave him a sleepy kiss. "Are you ready for today?"

He sighed through his nose, cupping her cheek, "Are you?"

She held back her tears, "I love you. I believe this is the right choice. But I'm still scared."

"Oh, don't be. I'll be okay," he tried to assure her, voice still gruff. "Wish I could marry you first, but we don't have time."

"We'll have our wedding when you're better," she promised, giving him another kiss. "Let's get ready."

* * *

Alec and Bonnie got out of the cab and went their separate ways when Bonnie went to catch up with Beth, since Mark was going on the stand. Before she did, she gave Alec a squeeze and long kiss. "I'll meet you in the lobby when it's time to go, okay?"

"Don't worry about me," he agreed. "Give my love to Beth."

Bonnie nodded and caught up with Beth, walking with the other woman through security. "You know no matter what gets dragged up in there, it's down to Joe. Not you guys."

"I just don't want anything else to go wrong," Beth whispered as they made their way up to the courtroom. She and Bonnie clasped hands as they climbed the stairs with Nige coming up behind them. Beth stopped short when she felt the hard metal ring on Bonnie's finger and brought their hands up to investigate. Her eyes widened when she saw the ring. "What is that?"

Bonnie tried to wedge her hand back, "We don't have to talk about this now."

"Nuh uh, you're not getting away with that if it's good news," Beth said, trying to distract herself from everything she was going through. "Is that what I think it is?"

Bonnie smiled and blushed, "Yes. Alec proposed."

Beth let out a happy sound and hugged her friend, "I'm thrilled for you."

Bonnie hugged her back, "And he's getting the pacemaker today. We're leaving early for the operation."

"I hope everything goes well," Beth said as they finally walked into the courtroom and took their seats as Mark took the stand and said his affirmation.

"What the living fuck," Bonnie heard Beth curse and looked to see Becca Fisher taking a seat with Paul the Reverend. She sure did have some gall showing up.

"Mr. Latimer, how well do you know Nigel Carter?" Jocelyn jumped right in.

"Very well. He's worked with me four years now," Mark answered.

"Do you trust him?" Jocelyn asked.

Mark nodded without hesitation, "With my life. And my son's life."

Jocelyn nodded, "So, what do you say to the accusation that Susan Wright saw Nigel Carter carrying your son's body the night of his death?"

Mark hid a scowl, "She's obviously got two bald blokes mixed up, cos it wasn't Nige."

"Since Danny's death, have you been meeting Tom Miller?" Jocelyn switched subjects.

"Yeah, I have," Mark admitted, trying to reign in his overwhelming emotions. "I was trying to help him through this. But I should have thought it through a bit more. It... It looks a bit odd."

"Did you tell Tom Miller... that you were guilty of killing your son?" Jocelyn questioned him.

Mark shook his head sternly, "No. I said I 'felt' guilty... because I wasn't there for Dan."

"Where were you on the night of your son's death, Mr. Latimer?"

Mark paused, seeing the blonde woman in the stands, "I was with Becca Fisher – the owner of the Traders Hotel."

"Were you having an affair?"

"No," he shook his head. "It was the first time anything had... happened."

"Did you have sex that night?"

It was awful that all this dirty laundry had to be aired not only in front of police, friends, but strangers.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"In her car."

"Then what did you do?" Jocelyn questioned.

"Then she drove me back to the cliff-top car park. I picked up my car and... we went our separate ways," Mark described.

"And did you go home immediately?"

They still had to account for the missing hour of his alibi. Jocelyn hoped that whatever it was wouldn't hurt their case.

He shook his head, answering honestly, "No, it was... about an hour, an hour and a half later."

"Where did you go during that time?" she asked. But Mark averted his eyes, hesitating. "Mr. Latimer, where were you?"

Mark took a deep breath, "I drove through the vale. And I parked up on the hill. And I started writing this – I dunno – note, letter."

"A letter to whom?" Jocelyn asked. She hadn't known this before.

He took a moment before answering, "To Beth, my wife." He didn't want to talk about this. It didn't matter anymore. But even Beth told him just to tell the truth. This was for Danny. To get justice for him.

Jocelyn pursed her lips, "Why would you be writing a letter to your wife at that time of the morning?"

Mark almost cried as he revealed, "I was saying it was over."

Bonnie held in her gasp of surprise as she saw the complete devastation on Beth's face and reached over to wrap her arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. It didn't happen."

"That I'd met someone else, that our marriage was done. I'd gone a bit mad. I was like... like a kid of 14, giddy with a fling. I'm not proud."

Beth couldn't take it anymore and clamored off of her seat, rushing for the door. Bonnie quickly followed after her, cushioning the new mother's fall as she collapsed in the stairwell, leaning heavily against the glass of the window-wall next to her and sobbing loudly.

Bonnie put her hands-on Beth's knees and tried to comfort her, "Beth, honey, it's all right..."

Ellie raced down the stairs and instantly sat down next to Beth, acting as if they had never fallen out. She readily took Beth to cry in her arms, "Come on, Beth. Come here. Beth, come on. Come here. Come here. It's all right. It's all right." Beth didn't even seem to realize that she hated Ellie at the moment, sobbing and screaming. "It's not Mark. This is not Mark. This is Joe doing this to us. We won't let him win, okay?"

During recess, once Beth had calmed down, Bonnie was reluctant to say her goodbyes and run off to meet Alec. But Beth said, "You need to hold onto your happiness and be there for him, because he's being that for you," and waved her off.

Alec asked, "How is she?" when she found him waiting outside with his bag all ready.

"She's really torn up," Bonnie sighed. "This is the worst thing." She took his hand as they made their way to the curb to flag down their cab. "But we need to focus on you now."

"I'll be fine," he told her as they climbed into the cab and headed off.

"I'm just being a worry-wort, I know," she kept her hand in his unwaveringly. "I'm supposed to be annoyingly optimistic – but this is your life we're dealing with."

He hugged her shoulders with his arm as they neared the hospital. Bonnie felt more and more anxious as they got closer. She suddenly turned to Alec, "Look at me."

He turned to her, seeing the change in her face and asked, concerned, "What is it?"

"Alec Hardy, do you take me, for better or worse, 'til death do us part?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

He let his smile spread far enough to crinkle his eyes, "Yes, I do."

She gave him a look, "Now you ask me..."

With a low chuckle, he obeyed, "Bonnie Irving, do you take me, for better or worse, 'til death do us part?"

"Hell yes, I do," she whispered with a large smile on her face as the cab pulled up to the hospital loading area. She lifted her head up to give him a searing kiss, pouring all her love, worry, and well-wishes into it before she pulled away. "I love you, now my unofficial husband. So, you have to fight to make it through all of this and come back to your unofficial wife. So, we can make it official as soon as possible."

"I promise you I will," he whispered, kissing her again.

* * *

After Alec and Bonnie left, Ellie walked Beth over to Nige and Jocelyn before storming into the lobby where Tom and Lucy were waiting around.

Lucy tried to impede her, "Now, Ell, before you say anything-"

But Ellie was a woman on a mission. "I don't want to talk to you." She marched right up to her son, "Sit down." When he didn't do anything, she shouted, "Sit down!" startling him enough to obey her and sit on the bench behind him. Overcome with grief, frustration, and ultimately painful disappointment, she started lecturing him the way only a mother could, "Do you see what you put Mark and Beth through?! He wouldn't be up there if it wasn't for you. I know you want to protect your father, but he is a murderer and a shit, and he deserves none of your feelings for him. Look what you ended up doing! You lied, on oath, in a court of law and I hope you're ashamed! Are you?" She only paused a moment before bellowing, "ARE YOU?!"

Ashamed, Tom answered her meekly, "Yes. Yes, Mum."

Ellie sniffed loudly and spoke quieter, but still angry and still without any room for argument in her voice, "You are coming home with me tonight back to the house."

Tom immediately tried to deny her, "No, we're not cos-"

But she was done taking orders from her son, "Yes we are because I am your bloody mother! If I have to drag you kicking and screaming, I will! Your father has done enough damage and I will not let him destroy us! Do you understand?!"

Tearful, but seeing his mother so determined to have him back did touch him. "Yes, Mum."

Ellie held back her tears, "Right, that's... good." She shared a look with Lucy, her older sister giving her a smile, and walked off back towards the courtroom.

* * *

 **...**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	12. Chapter 12: I Made It

CHAPTER TWELVE

I MADE IT

As they set up Alec in a gown and bed to prep him for surgery, Bonnie hovered at his side, trying to stay out of the doctor's ways. When the surgeon gave her a nod, signaling that they were ready take him, she rushed to his side and took his hand, squeezing it since she couldn't hug him. "I am going to be right by your side when you wake up, all right? So, wake up. I love you."

"I love you too," he told her as they started wheeling his bed away for the OR.

* * *

"It's quite a coincidence that neither you nor Nigel Carter have an alibi for around the time of your son's death, isn't it?" Sharon did not hold back with Mark on the stand. He was her fall guy to get her client off of murder charges after all.

"That's the way it was," Mark said.

"You admit that you were at the car park next to the cliff-top hut around the time your son was killed?"

He nodded, "I was, yeah."

"What's the distance between the car park and the hut?" she asked.

He frowned, shrugging, "I don't know, 50 yards."

"You were 50 yards away from where your son was killed," Sharon stated, painting a bad picture.

"Yes."

"At almost exactly the time he was killed."

Mark sniffed, averting his eyes, "...Yeah."

"So, from the hut, it's possible that Danny could have seen you with Becca Fisher that night?" Sharon posited.

Mark didn't like where she was going with her question-statements. He didn't answer right away. But the Judge told him, "You need to answer, Mr. Latimer."

"It's possible, yeah," he admitted reluctantly.

"Isn't it true... that because Danny saw you with Becca that night-" Sharon started imagining out loud.

"I said it was possible, not that it happened," Mark tried to refute her claims.

But she went on with her story despite his numerous interruptions, "...that you strangled him in that cliff-top hut-"

"No."

"...and then called your mate and colleague Nige Carter to dispose of the body-"

"None of that happened," he denied.

But she went on, "...who was then seen by Susan Wright."

"Not true! None of that is true!" he shouted.

But she continued to ignore him, "And then you arrange these strange meetings with Tom Miller because you felt guilty that his father was taking the blame."

"I did not kill my son!" he shouted angrily. A peak in his temper was exactly what she wanted.

She stared at him, racking up the tension, before completely changing the subject, "How did you get in to see Joe Miller while he was in police custody?"

"I don't know what you mean," he denied, despite the shocked looks from Jocelyn and her junior, as well as Beth in the stands.

"Did you bribe a police officer?" Sharon asked.

Jocelyn stood, "My Lady, this has no relevance to the evidence Mr. Latimer can give."

"It's fantastically relevant, My Lady," Sharon disputed.

The Judge gave Jocelyn a look, "You can wait, Miss Knight."

"How did you get into the cells, Mr. Latimer?" Sharon asked sternly.

Mark bit his lip before admitting, "The custody sergeant was an old friend. He let me in."

"Did you go there to threaten Mr. Miller to be silent? Or to gloat that he was taking the blame for a murder you'd committed?" Sharon asked.

Mark shook his head, desperate, "No, it was nothing like that."

Sharon turned her attention to the Judge, "My Lady, I'd like to raise a point of law."

The Judge wasn't impressed, but allowed it, "I'm sure you would, Miss Bishop." She addressed the jury, "Members of the jury, would you step out, please?"

* * *

Everyone watched with bated breath as Bishop made her speech to the Judge, "The investigating officers in this case have breached the PACE codes of practice time and time again. This is a fundamentally flawed investigation, littered with errors. The defense applies for a stay of proceedings on the grounds that there has been an abuse of the court's process – such that the defendant cannot have a fair trial. My Lady, I'm asking you to dismiss this case."

The moment the word 'dismiss' left her lips, everyone tense, desperate for the worst not to happen.

The Judge patiently turned her attention to Jocelyn, "I'll hear your submission now, Miss Knight."

Jocelyn quickly made her case, "I'd ask for an adjournment while we obtain statements from the relevant officers. Only then can I address whether there has been an abuse which prejudices this trial."

The Judge deliberated in her head before inclining her head, "All right. You have your adjournment, Miss Knight. Talk to the officers concerned and I'll hear full arguments on it before ruling."

Jocelyn and the others let out a collective breath of wary relief. "Thank you, my Lady."

* * *

Bonnie had been reading The Little Prince by Alec's bedside since the moment the nurses wheeled him back into his room. His doctor told him that the surgery had gone well, and that they wanted to keep him overnight while he recovered. Bonnie had smothered a snort, knowing he'd want to get checked out the moment he woke up and felt alert.

He had woken up briefly, staring unseeingly at the at the ceiling, muttering in wonder, "I'm alive..."

She had smiled and taken his hand, "Yes, you are," before his eyes slipped closed again and he fell asleep.

Soon enough, Ellie stormed in in a huff, "How is he then?"

"I'm guessing court didn't go well today?" Bonnie guessed at the reason for her attitude.

"That woman made a motion to have the whole case dismissed," Ellie growled. "Said it was all mishandled by us."

"That won't happen," Bonnie said. "The Judge can't be that thick."

"I hope you're right," Ellie sighed. "On the bright side – I'm bringing Tom home today."

Bonnie smiled, "That's amazing."

"Knock, knock," a voice interrupted them. The women looked up to see Bonnie's Uncle Jay there with a big smile. "How's your grouchy fiancé?"

"Recovering," Bonnie said with a playful roll of her eyes. "Jay, this is Ellie Miller. She worked with Alec on the Broadchurch case."

But Jay was looking at Ellie with a startled smile of recognition, "Well, my beard, Ellie White?"

Ellie was looking back at him, dumbfounded. "James Darrow is that you?"

Bonnie looked between them, "You two know each other?"

Ellie stuttered, still shell-shocked at seeing her old crush standing in front of her, "Oh, erm, yeah, we used to work together. Years ago."

"When I was still on active duty," Jay told his niece.

"How do you both know each other?" Ellie asked, gesturing between Bonnie and Jay.

"This is my Uncle, my dad's brother," Bonnie explained with a smile. She noticed how Ellie blushed and wondered what that was about.

"Right," Ellie muttered, pursing her lips. "I thought you took Irving because it was your dad's name?"

"Kenny and I had different fathers," Jay explained. He was staring at Ellie the whole time, "You look just like you did all those years ago, Elle. Time's been good to you."

Ellie hid her blush and was thankful that Alec chose that moment to start groaning and waking up. Bonnie stood quickly, tossing her book away to lean over him and take his hand, "Alec? Honey, how are you feeling?"

He blinked his eyes open and the first thing he saw was her face above him. He smiled, mumbling incredulously, "I made it. I made it through!"

Bonnie smiled brightly down at him, "Yes, you did, honey. How are you feeling?"

He groaned, "Tired."

Ellie snorted, "That's to be expected."

Alec finally noticed the others, grunting, "Miller. Here to drive us home?"

She groaned and shook her head, "Would but I can't. I'm picking Fred up from Lucy's and I'm bringing Tom home."

"That's why I'm here," Jay spoke up, clapping a light hand on Alec's shoulder. "It's nice to meet my favorite niece's future husband. Didn't imagine this setting, though."

Alec accepted the man's firm handshake, even with his weakness from the drugs, and said, "Neither did I. But here we are."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Hardy," Ellie quickly muttered, giving him a pat and Bonnie a big hug, and Jay a lingering look before leaving the hospital room.

"Are we ready then?" Jay asked. Bonnie could have sworn she saw a blush on his cheeks that she could see above his beard.

"I've spoken to the doctors," Bonnie looked down at Alec. "They recommend you stay in."

Alec gave her a look and then turned to Jay, "Take me home."

* * *

Beth felt her grip on her emotions slipping as she drove her and Mark to the vale outside their home across the verge. With a little swerving, she hastily parked the car and got out, staring out at the grass. Mark got out after her, trying to smother his tears and be strong for her. Explain himself. "I had to go and see Joe. I had to look him in the eye. I wasn't thinking about the future, Beth, I was thinking about what he'd done to Dan."

"How is this a marriage?" she asked him incredulously. "You share nothing. You keep everything locked away from me."

"Not from you. It's not about you," he tried to appease, explain, comfort her.

"Why isn't it about me?!" she shouted at him, glaring. "Why can't you make it about me, just for once? Why are we together, Mark? Is it just because Danny died?" She was grasping at anything to hold onto so one more thing in her life didn't slip away.

"No," he denied.

"Because if it is, don't bother. I don't need you. I could do without you," she said, not wanting a duty marriage that would only drag her down.

"Don't talk to me like that," he flinched.

"Are you gonna write me a letter?" she shot at him, a little spiteful. That part of his testimony had nearly shredded her heart out.

"It's better than your endless talking about it and nothing changing!" he shot back.

"If you're gonna stay, sort yourself out. Tell me everything or piss off," she demanded. "And, by the way, if this trial collapses now it's because of you."

He stared at her for a moment, gutted. Everything was practically falling apart. He couldn't have this fight, right then and there, so he just started walking away, leaving her there to watch his back.

* * *

Paul knew what he had to do while he sat across from Joe, a man who showed no sympathy for those he was dragging through this trial. He had always felt dirty meeting with Joe, not telling the Latimers, or anyone really. But he felt it his duty to help Joe repent and seek forgiveness, to pray with him. But it was clear his efforts were for naught.

"I was worried when she wouldn't put me in the witness box, but... now I see what her plan was," Joe expressed. "What do you reckon? Do you think they'll dismiss it? Do you think... Do you think I'm winning?"

Paul looked up at him blankly, "You're guilty, Joe."

Joe frowned at him, "I thought you were on my side."

"And I thought I could help you come to terms with what you've done," Paul replied. "But... I don't see you taking responsibility for your actions. How do you think God would view that?"

Joe averted his eyes, "When I was a paramedic... I saved a lot of lives. God sees that. He knows the good I've done."

Paul stared at him in disbelief, "It doesn't work like that. You watched your son lie for you... on oath, and still you're trying to wriggle free." Masking his face with professionalism, he finally concluded their meeting with, "I'm done with these visits. Goodbye, Joe."

As he stood and began walking away, he felt completely at ease as he ignored Joe's cries behind him. "Paul? Paul don't walk away. Paul?" He'd done what he could. And that was all God expected of him.

* * *

"I can't be long, I'm picking up Tom again. Taking him home, finally," Ellie made conversation as Claire did her hair outside the little house.

"You must be relieved about that," Claire replied.

Ellie smiled, "Yeah. Him, me and Fred – home together."

"Me and Lee are looking at a house later," Claire mentioned.

Ellie didn't expect that, "Really?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we?"

Ellie changed the subject, "So you kept your hairdressing stuff, then?"

"Oh, yeah. That's my magic bag," Claire fingered the bag at her hip. "Even when I had to leave with Alec, it was the first thing I packed. Got my portfolio, everything still in it."

"Really? Can I see?" Ellie asked.

Claire bent over to retrieve the book and hand it to her, "Yeah, have a look."

Ellie thumbed through it, seeing photos of hairstyles and Claire's professional photos of herself, "Ooh. Look at you! Nice."

"I scrub up well, don't I?" Claire laughed.

"We were back there the other day, near your old house," Ellie mentioned.

Claire was quiet behind her for a moment. "Really?"

"Yeah. I saw the river where they found Pippa, walked through the woods. I spoke to Cate," Ellie elaborated.

"Is she still drinking?" Claire asked.

Ellie nodded small, "A bit, yeah. I assumed that was since the deaths, but was she always like that?"

"I don't want to speak ill of her," Claire said, "not after everything she's been through – but she always had a posh glass of wine in her hand. Made sure you knew it was expensive."

"Right."

"Maybe it was because we were renting off them, but I just... always felt she was looking down on us," Claire complained. "Well, me. Lee she just flirted with, but everybody flirts with Lee and he just flirts right back, so..."

"You don't think... Did they ever have a thing?" Ellie asked.

"He was never interested in her. He's never looking to go older. Younger, maybe, but not Cate's age," Claire lied.

Ellie was still flipping through pictures when she paused at one of Claire, wearing the same pendent that Pippa wore. The smoking gun that was stolen. Claire noticed, nervously yanking the book away and moving quicker through her work on Ellie's hair. "Right, nearly finished!"

Ellie cleared her throat, "Thanks."

* * *

Ellie felt nervous later, leading Tom and Fred into their old home. "Come on. Right. Get some old clothes on."

"What for?" Tom asked, confused.

"First order of business, we're gonna paint the bedroom where me and your dad used to sleep," she told him.

"I don't know how to paint," he complained.

"Well, tonight's the night you'll learn," she left no room for argument. "We're gonna do the whole house eventually. This is ours, Tom. You, me and Fred."

Tom had to admit to himself that he liked the sound of that.

* * *

Jay helped support most of Alec's weight as Bonnie led them through the gate to the house. Her Uncle snorted when he saw the sky-blue house. "This is your place?"

"Anything looks small to a behemoth like you," Bonnie retorted, opening the door. She quickly set up one of their lawn chairs at the edge of the water and said, "Sit him down here."

"I can sit myself down," Alec grumbled and stumbled into the chair, resting his feet against the cement side of the yard, getting comfortable.

Bonnie quickly ducked into the house and grabbed a throw blanket she'd brought when she moved in and returned outside to toss I over his shoulders and situate it around him. "Are you warm enough?"

"I'm fine," he grunted.

She pulled out his new pills from her own coat pocket and popped the lid open to take out what he needed to take, "Right, two of these."

She put them in his hand and before she could go back inside for water, he dry swallowed them with a loud gulp.

Jay laughed, "Tough man. That's good."

Bonnie gave both men a look before sitting at Alec's feet on the raised stone railing, "You're going to rest well tonight, or I'll chain you to the bed tomorrow."

"Are you my nurse now?" he joked.

She smirked at him, "I could get one of those outfits."

Alec snorted and went to retort but her mobile rang. Bonnie pulled it out of her pocket and smiled, "It's Daisy," before answering, "Hello Daisy... Yeah, I'm with him..." Bonnie gave him the fondest smile as she talked to his daughter. "Oh, he looks like shit."

"Hey!" he protested lamely.

Bonnie stuck her tongue out at him and handed her phone over. "She wants to speak to you."

He took the phone and held it to his ear, "Hi, darlin'."

Bonnie loved the way he spoke to his daughter, with no guard up like he had with other people. He loved his daughter so much, so openly, without reservation. She felt lucky to be just a small part of his family now.

"Fine," he was assuring Daisy. "No, just a little bit of metal. It's the first step to being the Six Million Dollar Man..." he paused and made a face, before saying, "What do you mean you've never heard of the Six Million... What do they teach you at that school?" making Bonnie laugh. "Yeah, it's all fixed..." he paused now with a fond smile, "No more broken heart." He then turned his eyes to Bonnie with a loving smile, "Yeah, she might have something to do with that."

Bonnie smiled back at him with love and stood, dropping a kiss on his head before stepping into the house to start making some white tea. Jay followed her in and asked, "Anything else I could do to help?"

Bonnie let out a sigh as she put the kettle on. "Actually, yeah. Can you stay with him for a couple hours? While I go out?"

"Go out?" he questioned, furrowing his brow. "Where are you going? He just had heart surgery."

Bonnie had been thinking about something for a long time with the trial going the way it was. It was a last resort. "The trial isn't going well. I'm trying to remain positive and optimistic. Especially in front of Alec. But if Bishop isn't successfully getting the whole thing thrown out tomorrow, I really think that he'll go free. And I can't let that happen."

"What could you do?" Jay asked. "Break into the jail and take him out?"

She kept her face serious, gazing at Alec on the phone through the kitchen window. "There's something someone like me can do. Only someone like me."

"Oh," he realized. He looked out at Alec too, "Does he ever get suspicious? I know you were seeing Danny everywhere before. Did he ever catch onto something?"

Bonnie grimaced, "He knows. Ellie too. All of it."

Jay gaped at her in utter disbelief, "And you haven't been chucked into the loony bin?"

Bonnie snorted, "At first I thought that was exactly where I was headed. But I was able to explain and even prove it to them. It's a long story. Can you stay with him for a bit?"

"Of course, but what are you planning?" he asked.

"It's better we don't talk about specifics," she said, giving him a thankful smile and making a cup of tea for Alec and taking it out to him. He was still on the phone with Daisy, so she kept quiet as she handed him the mug and whispered, "I'm going to the store to pick up a few things we need. Be right back."

He looked like he knew there was something else to her words but nodded and accepted her peck on the lips and just said, "Be quick and safe," as she made her way out the gate with her bike.

The sun was getting low when she found herself at the Trader's and left it on the side of the building when she saw Marge sitting at one of the outdoor tables. Marge waved her over animatedly, "Magpie, over here. Have a seat. Sit down."

Bonnie pulled the chair out and sat sternly, "Don't call me Magpie. I'm not here for a chat. I'm here to make a deal."

"A deal?" her mother asked quizzically.

"It's a take it or leave it thing," she warned before Marge could get ahead of herself, thinking she'd worn her down. "So, think about that because my new restraining order has gone through and I could easily get you deported back to Richmond."

Marge sat back patiently, "All right, I'm listening."

"Were you telling the truth when you said there was a way for people like us to still contact the souls that fade instead of move on?" she asked first.

Marge nodded, "Yes, I wouldn't lie about our gifts to you. It takes some time and practice but it's doable."

"I don't have a lot of time, can it be done within the next couple days?" Bonnie asked.

"I always had some issues with it," Marge admitted. "But I've always known that you are more powerful than I am. More naturally gifted. Just like your grandmother."

Bonnie averted her eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay – here's the deal. Tell me how to do it. Down to the last detail. And then I want you back in America. I don't want you here."

"Deal made it sound like I would get something too," Marge commented.

"I'll give you a quote for your book," Bonnie ground out through her teeth. "Under my old name. And send some Christmas cards your way, maybe even keep some contact with you. But I still want you gone. That part is non-negotiable."

"Would you write the forward?" Marge immediately started negotiating. Bonnie shouldn't have been even a little surprised that her mother cared more about the damn book than having a true relationship with her daughter.

But she still shook her head, "You're unbelievable. You get one honest quote from me or you get nothing. I said this was a take it or leave it – not a discussion."

Marge stared at her for a long time, "All right. I'll take it."

* * *

It was already dark when Bonnie got home with a few bags of groceries they did need. Jay was sat up on the couch with a book, Alec was still lounging outside – right where she'd left him. She set her bike down against the house, making sure the bags were secure in the basket before walking to his side and sitting by his feet. "What are you still doing out here? You must be freezing."

"M'fine," he said. "Get what we needed?"

"Yeah," she said, resting her hand on his knee. "How are you feeling?"

He made a show of taking a deep breath without trouble, ending it with a smile and he let the air out through his nose, "Never better."

Jay walked out then, saying, "I'm going to shove off to the hotel now then."

"Thank you for your help," Alec said, grunting as he stood and shook Jay's hand.

"Don't think we won't be discussing how you know Ellie later," Bonnie teased her Uncle before giving him a hug and seeing him off to the gate. She then turned her teasing smile to her fiancé, "And now you get to get into bed. You need a full night's rest before tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," he smirked as she pulled him up out of the chair and led him to bed, putting him right to sleep with her methodical fingers stroking through his hair and her soft voice humming an old Scottish lullaby her father used to sing.

Bonnie waited until Alec was well and truly in a deep sleep before slipping out of bed. Her mother had given her all the instructions she needed to pull this stunt off, but she needed to start soon. She cleared off a spot on the floor in the midst of all the investigation stuff and sat down, cross-legged. She listened to the wind and the sound of the water, smelled the salt in the air, as she closed her eyes and deepened her breathing. She had to get into a deep meditative state for this to work.

She felt herself getting pulled into a void darkness – her mother described it that way. And she was surprised to see that it hadn't taken her very long to get into that trance. She felt the cold presence that she usually felt when she was visited. But it also felt dark and tired. Marge said it would feel different, more tangled up.

It's like willful possession, taking in their thoughts to communicate. Like telepathy. You can even pass the possession onto another person – whether they're like us or not. But remember, in the obscurity, the majority of them are bad.

Bonnie felt like she was having ten conversations at once. The actual hearing of words was spotty, it was more like feeling the words and discussion, instead of hearing the voices. Things like What do you want from us?, We know how karma works, what do you need?, yes, we can do that.

Bonnie felt incredibly tired when everything went silent again and she had to open her heavy-lidded eyes. She was glad it was still night when she looked outside. With deep exhaustion in her limbs, she climbed off the floor and limped back into bed, settling against Alec's chest before falling into oblivion.

* * *

Even as tired as she was, Bonnie still woke up before Alec and got up to start making some toast and tea. She decided she'd rest today with him and wait to see if Bishop got the case dismissed before going through with her plan. She heard him groaning behind her and turned to see him on his feet in the doorway of the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?"

"We've got court today," he grunted, reaching for some toast.

She handed him the bread and kissed his cheek, "I don't think we're not going. You had major surgery yesterday and you need your rest. So, do I, frankly."

"No-" he started to protest.

But she cut him off with a fierce kiss, using the distraction to maneuver him back to their bedroom until he fell on his back. He grunted from the impact, "Sneaky bugger."

She laughed and went back to the kitchen to retrieve the mugs of tea before returning. She climbed in the bed next to him and had him drink some tea before making him lie down. "Now rest."

He stared up at her, "When do you want to start planning that wedding?"

She smirked at him, "You want to be involved in wedding planning?"

He shrugged, "It's the last one I'll ever have. Should be involved, shouldn't I?"

She smiled, leaning down to kiss him, "That's sweet. And if it wasn't for Ellie and the Latimers and Daisy and Jay – I'd say let's just go to a clerk's office and get it done sooner rather than later. But... after everything we've been through, still muddling through, we deserve a little celebration. Just a little one though. I don't want to go overboard."

Alec let out a tired yawn. "Me either..."

She stroked his hair back from his forehead, "Go back to sleep, honey. I'll still be here. I'll take care of you."

With another small yawn, he closed his eyes and fell asleep against her shoulder.

* * *

"No evidence was compromised, no physical intimidation occurred," Jocelyn testified. "We have a sworn statement from the officer who was present. My Lady, it was an unfortunate incident, but the process of justice can still flow. This doesn't mean the defendant cannot have a fair trial."

The Judge quietly considered her words before saying, "There have clearly been failings in this investigation and in the conduct of officers, but I am satisfied that the defendant can indeed get a fair trial. So, I'm going to refuse the application." Everyone in the courtroom was relieved together.

"Thank you, My Lady."

* * *

Bonnie was reclined against the wall on her and Alec's bed when his mobile started vibrating on the nightstand. She quickly stood and grabbed the phone, ducking into the living room to answer quietly, "Hello?"

Ellie's voice answered her, "Oh. I was expecting him to answer."

"He's sleeping still, thankfully," Bonnie told her. "What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be in court still?"

"No, it didn't take long," Ellie explained. "The trial's still on."

Bonnie let out a sigh of relief, "That's great."

"Listen, can you pass something on to him?" Ellie requested. "Perhaps call Tess and let her know as well. She's the one who can possibly officially reopen the case and give us the resources we need."

"Of course, what is it?" Bonnie agreed.

"Claire Ripley showed me a photograph. She was wearing Pippa's pendant," she said.

"Wow, the smoking pendent," Bonnie realized. "You might need to get your hands on it. Did she see that you noticed?"

"I don't think so," Ellie said. "It'll be at her cottage. I'll talk to you later, give him my love."

"Of course," Bonnie said before hanging up and searching through Alec's phone, dialing Tess.

The woman sounded a bit worried when she answered, "Alec? Are you all right?"

"It's Bonnie actually," Bonnie told her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Alec's fine, he's sleeping now. Recovering."

Tess let out a sigh of relief, "That's good. Daisy said he sounded good over the phone yesterday. She's talking about visiting one of these weekends to see for herself though."

Bonnie smiled, sitting on the couch, "He'll love to see her. I'd love to show her around Broadchurch. There's not much to do but the beach is nice. Alec wouldn't agree."

"Oh, he hates the sand," Tess laughed. "I'll talk to him later, try to set something up."

"Listen, the reason I'm calling is that Ellie wanted to pass on a message, about Sandbrook case," Bonnie said. "She caught sight of a photo of Claire wearing Pippa's pendent."

Tess quieted, "Can she get hold of it?"

"It's in her portfolio at the cottage," Bonnie said. "She's going to try."

* * *

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	13. Chapter 13: Light a Fire

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LIGHT A FIRE

Bonnie was just waking up again, when a familiar head poked into the house. Tess smiled when she saw the other woman, "Morning. I wanted to check in. On Alec – and how the investigation was going. After what you said Ellie told you."

Bonnie welcomed the woman in and ushered her into the living room. "Of course. He's sleeping, we should let him wake up on his own. Ellie's on her way now to check in on the mess she's made of our living room." She gestured around the room with a shared laugh with Tess. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Why don't you let me make a spot of tea?" Tess offered. "You must be tired watching after that big ol' lump."

Bonnie laughed and followed her into the kitchen, "I've gotten in plenty of naps of my own. I'm just glad he made it out alive to be honest. It was my worst fear that he would die on that table."

"He doesn't look it, but he's tough," Tess tried awkwardly tried to comfort the girl. "He mentioned that he asked you to marry him. And you accepted. Con—congratulations."

Bonnie nodded and was quiet for a moment. As she watched Tess put the kettle on, she suddenly said, "You know, after my dad died, my mum played at being independent. But eventually started parading new men by me, saying that I needed a new father and they'd step in. None of them ever stuck around, and I never really bonded with any of them. I had my father – alive or not." She left out the part that he had literally been with her for three years after his passing, until she moved away.

"I'm sorry – about your father," Tess replied dubiously, taken aback by the subject.

"A parent can never be replaced," Bonnie said kindly. "I just want you to know that. I could never replace you. I would never try to. I am marrying Alec, and that means being part of every aspect of his life. I would like a relationship with Daisy. But not to be her mother. Just to be Bonnie. A friend."

Tess nodded slowly, "Thank you for saying that. I would like the two of you to get to know each other. Since you are marrying her dad."

Bonnie smiled. "I would like it if you and I could be friends as well. Alec still holds love for you, even if it is different than it used to be. And you are Daisy's mother."

Tess smiled back. "That sounds lovely."

Bonnie heard the gate squeaking and excused herself, "That must be Ellie." She walked out to meet Ellie outside the house with a smirk, "All right, before you and Tess dive into the investigation – what was with the looks you were giving my Uncle yesterday?"

Ellie flushed, embarrassed, "It's nothing. I just – didn't expect to see him again."

"There's surprise and then there's the blushing mess you were around him," Bonnie said. "Did you and he have a thing or something?"

"No, no, no, he was already married when we knew each other," Ellie rushed to explained. She paused under Bonnie's unwavering stare and then broke down, admitting, "Okay, well, I had a bit of a thing for him. A massive thing really, I was in love with him. But I never told him. I thought about it, chickened out. Lately, especially after seeing him again after so long, I've wondered how different things would be now if I had just went for it."

Bonnie admitted it made her giddy to hear so. "Well, well, well..."

Ellie blushed and scoffed, "You should really be a detective. That stare would work wonders in the interrogation room."

Bonnie laughed, "You know, it's never too late."

Ellie gaped humorously, "How can you say that? Uma is your Aunt, is she not?"

"Hopefully not for long," Bonnie shared her sentiment. "She and Jay separated."

Ellie gaped in disbelief, "They what?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. Uma's the one whose been telling Marge all about me, including where I live. Jay couldn't handle her delusions about mom anymore. He's looking to move somewhere around here. Close by to me. You could go for it now. Never too late."

Ellie flushed under Bonnie's encouragement, a welling of butterflies in her stomach, and said, "Let's just get on with today, right?"

* * *

"You go about your life thinking you're complete, then you meet someone and realize you're only half of something. People laugh about it. 'Have you met my other half?' Then when you meet that person... you know it's true. You're only really whole when you're with each other. Never ends well, does it?"

"What doesn't?"

"Love. It makes you strong and... then it pulls you down. However it happens... one half always loses the other."

Alec had had that conversation with Claire when he sat with her at the clinic... after her procedure. He didn't understand why he was thinking of it as he woke up. Maybe because her sentiments about two halves of a whole made him think of himself and Bonnie. He blindly reached towards the other side of the bed to feel it empty. He opened his eyes to see Ellie seated at the table by his door, Tess standing next to her, talking with her.

"What's going on?" he grumbled as he got out of bed, grabbing a sweater and slipping it on as he wandered into the living room.

"Morning. Cup of tea?" Tess offered, already going into the kitchen.

Bonnie had stood up from the couch and gone to his side, grabbing his arm and leading him to a chair across from Ellie. "Morning, honey."

"Morning, love," he gruffly greeted her.

Ellie greeted him with, "Claire's gone from the house. Then I found a pile of ash in the sink, presumably from where she burnt the photograph of herself wearing this pendant."

"You're saying Pippa's pendant actually belonged to Claire?" Alec asked as Tess returned, handing him a mug of tea and peering at the wall of information Ellie had crafted.

"Well, Claire was wearing it in the photograph I saw," Ellie said.

"So, she must have given it to Pippa at some point," Alec observed, taking a sip of his tea. "And now she's burnt the photo. She's panicking. That's good. I like it when they panic."

"Claire kills the girls and Lee covers for her?" Ellie posited. "What would be her motive? Unless she was grooming Pippa for Lee."

Tess suddenly broke in, excitedly pointing at something on the wall, "I knew I'd seen this name before – Gary Thorp. He runs that incinerator business Thorp Agri Services. He was on the invite list to the wedding Ricky and Cate went to. RSVP'd yes, didn't turn up."

"Does he know Ricky and Cate? We haven't talked to him?" Alec asked.

"There was no connection until now. I'll get on to it," Tess said. When she saw the look on his face, she added, "It doesn't mean we'll reopen the case."

"What are you two gonna do now?" Bonnie asked, looking at Alec and Ellie.

"Miller is gonna give Claire one last chance to confess," Alec decided.

"Am I?" Ellie asked sarcastically.

He nodded, "Aye, you are. We're gonna set a fire under her."

And so, Ellie found herself sitting outside, waiting for Claire to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

Ellie said, "Hi, it's me. Where are you?"

"Like you care."

Ellie sighed, "I saw the photograph, Claire. Why were you wearing a pendant belonging to Pippa Gillespie?"

Claire let out her own big sigh, "It wasn't Pippa's. It was mine. My gran gave it to me."

"Why did Pippa Gillespie have it? Why did you burn the photograph?" Ellie questioned her.

She was quiet on the other line for a moment, before muttering, "Do you know, I am... I am sick and tired of my life being defined by this, Ellie. I keep being dragged into something I had nothing to do with."

"Why do you still keep secrets from us?" Ellie asked her.

"The truth doesn't help," she denied.

"It gives peace to the families involved," Ellie argued.

"You think so? Your friends, the parents of that boy your husband killed... are they at peace now?" she posited. After Ellie's silence, she said, "No, I didn't think so."

Ellie switched it up, "Okay, Lisa Newbury – we need to know if she's dead or alive, if there's a body to be found."

"I had a life, Ellie, and it was destroyed in the ripples. They just keep coming at me. When is it ever gonna stop?"

* * *

Lee should have been surprised to see Alec marching up to him on the farmer's land.

"Where's Claire?"

"Don't you know?" Lee answered.

"She's left the cottage."

Lee scowled, "What did she do that for?"

Alec however, was grinning, "Anyway, I came to say thank you."

Lee frowned, "For what?"

"South Mercia Constabulary have authorized the Sandbrook investigation to be re-opened. New leads, new evidence. Couldn't have it without you, that information you gave me. Not gonna take long to wrap it up now," Alec embellished.

Lee stared at him, confusion setting in at Alec's attitude, "Are you all right? There's something different about you."

Alec grinned wider, "I'm more than all right, Lee. I'm reborn."

Lee was even more confused, "What?"

"I thought this case would kill me. I thought I would die not knowing, having failed. Then I had my operation. After it, when I woke up... and I was alive, and I didn't expect to be alive... know one of the first thing I felt?" Alec asked.

"What?" Lee couldn't help but play along.

"Angry," Alec revealed, his Scottish brogue deepening. "Really, properly angry. For the Gillespies, for Pippa, for Lisa. I hadn't felt that angry in years. That is a beautiful feeling. I was... I was worn down, I was tired, I was beaten. Now I've got a new lease of life. Whereas you, of course, look at you – you're exhausted. Sick of running. Sick of not being able to escape what happened. I get that."

Lee scowled, "You don't get anything about me."

"What I don't get... is whether you're lying to protect yourself or someone else. Presumably Claire. I'd always thought she was lying to protect you. Maybe it's the other way round," Alec thought out loud. "You can't trust her."

"You're wrong," Lee denied.

"Am I?" Alec goaded him. "She ever tell you she was pregnant?"

Lee's face slowly dropped, "When?"

"Judging by the dates – before the night Lisa and Pippa went missing – so all the time you were in custody," Alec revealed.

Lee denied it, "You're lying."

"Ask her." As Alec said this, he knew the hot water it would dump Claire in. But he wanted a confrontation. He needed to flush them out. Make them scramble and turn on each other. He remembered how upset and frightened she had been after getting the abortion, as he sat with her afterwards.

"So, what happened to it?" Lee was asking as Alec remembered that day.

If he ever finds out about this...

"Why don't you ask her?"

* * *

Mark stared out of the window, out in the vast empty land behind their house. Desolate. Desperate. The end was coming near, and he had no idea if he had or hadn't ruined everything with his last testimony. And he meant everything. The trial. Joe seeing justice for what he's done. His marriage with Beth. He wondered if there was still any good in the world.

"Hurry up. Last day of evidence," Beth said behind him as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"Should I move out?" he asked abruptly.

"Oh..." she was surprised at the question as she turned back at him. "Do you want to? Where would you go?"

He muttered lethargically, "I don't know."

Beth stared at him, trying to understand where they were, trying to get him to understand, "I didn't say, 'Leave,' I said, 'I need you to change.'"

"Yeah, what if I can't?" he poised.

"Stop thinking of life as something that happens to you. What we do now, that's who we are," she insisted.

"You said you didn't need me," he pointed out.

She was so exasperated with the circles they were going in. "I said I can be alone if I have to. You need to decide if we matter enough for you to change."

* * *

Alec didn't come with Bonnie to court today. He had things to do for the Sandbrook case. So, she gave a kiss and told him to call her if he needed anything or felt even a little weak. She didn't want him overdoing it so soon after his operation. But as she sat in that courtroom with Beth today, she almost wished she had skipped it as well.

"Ms. Bishop, I believe you have an application to make," the Judge commenced.

But everyone was shocked to hear Sharon say, "The defense wishes to recall Bonnie Irving to the stand – to clarify a few bits."

Bonnie sat up straighter, getting confused looks from Beth and Mark and Ellie. She was confused herself, what more was there for her to say? Even the Judge looked skeptical, "I will not grant you permission to treat Miss Irving as hostile. I think you've done enough of that."

Sharon nodded benevolently, "Understood. Just a few questions."

The Judge allowed it, and soon Bonnie found herself affirming herself on the stand.

Sharon made herself to look friendly, "I understand we disagree with each other on very key points of this trail. But I'll make this quick and civil for all parties."

Bonnie kept quiet until she was asked a question.

Sharon took her silence as permission to carry on. "How long have you been suffering from delusions and hallucinations, Miss Irving?"

Jocelyn quickly stood, "Is this what Miss Bishop means by civil?"

The Judge gave Sharon a look, "Quite, Miss Bishop."

Sharon accepted some documents from Abby, "I have newspapers from Virginia – stories of how Marjorie MacQueen aided police in finding murderers and a kidnapped young girl using her psychic powers. Would that be you Miss Irving, or presumably your mother?"

Bonnie clenched her jaw. She couldn't believe this was becoming part of it. "That would be my mother. A scam artist." She felt Beth watching her, remembering everything she'd told the mother about her mother when that phone engineer reared his head into Danny's investigation.

Sharon look at her, "But I read her book! Rather touching." Like exhibiting evidence, she held up the book for all to see. "She talks about how you both share the gift to communicate with the dead, how she used it to solve crimes in your town, and how you heartlessly abandoned her when you ran away from home."

"Like I said," Bonnie replied calmly, "it's a scam. What does this have to do with Danny?"

"I agree with Miss Irving, Miss Bishop," the Judge cut in.

"Just a few more questions, my lady," Sharon plead contentiously.

Slowly, the Judge considered it and nodded. "Make it quick."

Sharon nodded and turned back to Bonnie, "Why did you run away from home, Miss Irving?"

Bonnie sighed through her nose, "I didn't run away. My mother and I never got along. It only got worse after my dad died and she carried on with her cons of claiming to be what she says. We had a falling out over her pushing me to join in on it when I was seventeen. So, when I turned eighteen, I went ahead with changing my name and moved to Whales to live with my dad's brother and go to university. I cut off contact with my mother. I guess she thinks that was heartless. Personally, I believe the false hope she gave people pretending to speak to their passed on loved ones was heartless."

"Perhaps," Sharon stated. "But what of her claims that you share this gift?"

"Like I said, she's a scam artist," Bonnie said.

Sharon rose an eyebrow at her, "So, you don't believe that you can communicate with those that have already moved on to another plane?"

Bonnie held in a smirk at her wording. She didn't really want to perjure herself over this ridiculousness. "No."

Sharon straightened, convinced that Bonnie was lying. "Did you ever go to the Latimer family and claim that you could communicate with Danny Latimer?"

Wording really was everything. "No."

Sharon opened her mouth to ask something, but the Judge cut her off, "I believe you've exceeded your allotted questions with this witness." She turned to Bonnie, almost apologetic, "You can step down, Miss Irving."

"Thank you, My Lady." As Bonnie stepped off the witness box and started walking around the courtroom to her seat, she walked a little slower passed Sharon – who was steaming – and locked eyes with her. You have not won. You will not win.

"The defense wishes to recall former Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller as a witness for the defense. My Lady, I apply to treat DS Miller as a hostile witness," Sharon announced.

Ellie had Tom with her in the seats today, and he clenched her hand when her name was called. She was confused to hear she was going up again – on the last day no less. But obeyed the call of the court, and swore herself in, standing with the thought not to let herself get sucked in like she had before.

"How close are you to your sister?"

"Lucy?" Ellie hadn't been expecting to be questioned about her sister. "Pretty close. We have our disagreements, you know, family."

"At the end of the investigation into Danny Latimer's death, were you aware she'd racked up substantial gambling debts?" Sharon asked.

"I became aware, yeah," Ellie answered.

"How did you become aware?" Sharon asked.

Ellie shrugged, catching sight of her sister in the raffs, "Lucy told me she was in trouble."

"Did she ask for help with the debts?"

"She did, I refused," Ellie explained.

Sharon held a small smirk on her face that made Ellie nervous. "On the day that your husband, the defendant, was arrested, you wrote a check from the joint-account you hold with your husband for £1,000, made payable to your sister. Is that correct? What made you change your mind about helping her?"

"I don't know." Now she was nervous. This wasn't supposed to come up. It wasn't supposed to be a part of it.

"You don't know why you suddenly gave your sister £1,000?" Sharon sounded highly skeptical.

"She was desperate," Ellie tried.

Sharon made a show of scoffing for the court, "It was YOU that was desperate, wasn't it? Later that day, according to your police notebook, you told DI Hardy that your sister had given a statement describing a man conveniently matching the description of the defendant dumping clothes into a bin the night of Danny's death. Did you bribe your sister to fabricate evidence against your husband?"

"No, I didn't," Ellie insisted, feeling heated and desperate right then.

"You bribed a witness to implicate your husband so that you could fix a failing investigation and continue your affair with DI Hardy. Isn't that true?" Sharon accused.

"Not a single word of this is true! I lent her money to help-" Ellie yelled desperately.

"Not 'lent', 'bribed'!" Sharon cut her off. "On the condition that she help you frame your husband."

"Nobody framed Joe. He killed Danny, he confessed."

"After you beat him up, or before?"

Ellie beseeched the jury, "Don't listen to her! Everybody knows he killed Danny and I wish I'd been able to stop him!"

The Judge gave her a look, "Don't lecture the jury, PC Miller. Your job is to answer the question."

"No further questions, m'lady."

Ellie let out a sigh at that.

"That concludes the case for the defense."

* * *

 **I hate Sharon so much.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	14. Chapter 14: Closing Arguments

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

Ellie felt tired in her bones as she drove her and Tom back to the house and groaned aloud when she saw Alec waiting there. She was even more tired when he immediately started giving orders, "No, no, Miller back in the car."

"What?" she asked. She just wanted to lie down.

Alec spoke to Tom, nonchalantly, "You boys are going to your Aunt Lucy's – sleepover, it'll be fun."

Tom looked at his mum, "What's he talking about?"

She frowned, "I've no idea. You're not going to Lucy's."

"I've arranged it," Alec said. "We've got work to do. We'll drop you there now. How was court?"

After dropping Tom off, Ellie reluctantly told him about court. But started with her mess, rather than get him all worked up of Sharon harassing Bonnie again.

"You bribed your sister?!" he shouted.

"I did not!" she loudly insisted. "I lent her money, she made a statement – separate things!"

"Can you not see how that could get put together?" he asked her incredulously.

"I make mistakes. But I didn't kill a child!" she yelled. "They were gonna shut the case down. She knew something but needed money. I did not know it was Joe!"

He scoffed, "That's all right, then!"

Ellie held in her frustrated tears and focused on driving, "It's gonna be all right, they've got enough evidence, haven't they?"

Alec shrugged, "It could go either way. Juries are funny animals."

"Would it kill you to be reassuring? You are terrible company!" Ellie accused him. After a bleak silence, she reluctantly added, "That's not the worst bit."

Alec gave her a look, "What could possibly be worse than it looking like you bribed your sister to frame Joe for murder?"

Ellie flinched. "They recalled Bon as well. Questioned her about believing she was a medium, like her mum."

Alec clenched his eyes shut in fury, cursing loudly, "Bloody fantastic! What happened?"

"Bonnie was cool as a cucumber," Ellie rushed to reassure him. "She used Bishops' wording choices against her and put her off the truth without committing a crime up there. Went much the same as the last time. But I'm afraid all the jury will remember is my mess of a testimony."

"I've got to call her," Alec sighed.

"You can do that later," Ellie said. "I saw her with Beth after."

"Fine," he sighed.

"Why are we going back here, anyway?"

"Tess has found Gary Thorp. I really wanna talk to him."

* * *

Neither of them had expected to find Gary Thorp to be a young lad, early twenties, working at a car wash.

"Gary Thorp? South Mercia Police. Are you the same Gary Thorp who owns Thorp Agri Services?"

The young man answered lamely, "Used to. It was my dad's business. When he died, I took it over. Went bankrupt. What's this about?"

"Did Cate Gillespie do your business accounts?" Ellie asked him.

He thought and shrugged, "Not to my knowledge."

Alec asked, "Have you ever met Cate, or her husband, Ricky?"

He nodded, "Once. He lent me cash when I was in trouble. Money came from his niece, Lisa."

Alec shifted when he heard Lisa's name, "So you know Lisa Newbury?"

Solemnly, Gary nodded, "We went out a couple of times."

"Was it serious?" Ellie asked, sounding friendlier.

"I wish!" he expressed eagerly. But then he sobered, "Uh... I fell for her, big time. I thought she was the one, and she didn't feel the same about me."

"Why didn't you come forward when Lisa disappeared?" Alec asked incredulously.

"I wasn't in any state," he explained.

"Why not?"

The boy frowned, shame rolling off of him in waves, "The business was in a state cos I wasn't paying attention to it and my life went out of control."

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked.

"I used to follow her a little bit. Stand outside where she was. I'm not proud of it," he explained, thoroughly ashamed.

Ellie added, "Like when she was babysitting?"

Shakily, Gary nodded.

"Did you stand outside the Gillespies' house when she was there? Where were you on the night the girls disappeared?" Alec tacked on.

"In hospital," he revealed. "I tried to kill myself."

* * *

"So, what are you here for?" Ricky asked as Ellie and Alec visited him on site in his trailer office.

"Did you ever give money to Gary Thorp?" Alec asked.

Ricky shrugged, "Never heard of him."

"He went out with Lisa, got a business called Thorp Agri Services," Ellie elaborated.

Recognition dawned on him then, "Yes... Yeah, I did give him some cash. Lisa asked for some help, said he had a cash flow problem, that I'd get it back."

"Why didn't you tell us at the time?" Alec asked him, reaching the end of his wick with all these people.

Ricky frowned, "Uh, cos it didn't seem important and it never came up."

Alec had turned his attention elsewhere, looking around. He frowned when he noticed a landline phone sitting on one of the tables at the back. Ricky had an office phone at his desk at the front.

"Did you know he ran an animal incineration business?" Ellie asked Ricky.

Ricky frowned, "Jesus. Do you think he had something to do with it?"

Alec had wondered deeper into the office, eyes trained on a landscape photo hung up on the wall. It was a field of bluebells.

"How long have you had this picture?"

Ricky looked back at him, "A year, two."

Alec slowly turned his eyes to Ricky, "You like bluebells?"

Ricky let out a forced chuckle and stammered, "Uh... Yeah, yeah. They're all right. They're a... They're a flower, aren't they? So..."

"Well, thank you very much for your time," Ellie concluded.

"Yeah," Ricky waved them off as they left.

As they were walking off, Alec gently blocked Ellie from walking too far, "You still got the number you found in Claire's phone?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Ring it."

Diligently, she pulled out her phone and dialed the number, holding it to her ear as the ringing began. Only it didn't only come from her phone. They could hear the distinct sound of a phone ringing inside the trailer behind them. They shared a look. Like all the pieces were there and they just had to put them all together.

* * *

Claire was sitting in a lump on the beach by the boat huts where she'd been squatting since last night. Like magnetism, she felt Lee's presence behind her.

"No-one followed you, did they? They don't know I'm here."

He said nothing as he crouched next to her, stroking his hand lovingly through her hair. She kissed his hand, showed him affection. And it made him sick. Slowly, so she didn't suspect anything, he weaved his fingers through her bun before gripping tight. She barely had time to scream before he was dragging her into the water, tossing her in. She flailed and tried to get away as he dunked her head under the waves. He shouted, "When were you gonna tell me?!"

She gasped for air as he pulled her out of the water by her hair, "I don't know..."

"You don't know?!" He pushed her under again.

"I swear! I don't know... Get off me. Get off me!" she tried to fight him when her head was barely above water.

"You were pregnant!" he shouted in her face.

"Get off me. Get off me!" she hit at his strong arm still had a hold on her hair. She sobbed, looking at him, "I wasn't ready to tell you, and then you were arrested. I didn't know what was gonna happen. I was so scared! I was so scared."

Lee felt tears stinging his eyes, "What happened to the baby?"

She stuttered in grief, "I had an abo... I had an abortion."

Anger coursed through him, "How did Alec Hardy know about this?"

Her sobs decreased as she stared at him, "Alec? He told you?"

"How did he know?" Lee needed to know.

Claire frowned, crying as she admitted weakly, "He came to the clinic with me. He stayed with me."

Lee was tempted to dunk her into the water again. To hold her down until she stopped moving. She had killed their child. Tears tracked down his cheeks and he demanded, "Was the baby mine? Was the baby mine?!"

Her face changed, "You have to ask me that?" As his grip in her hair slackened, she lunged for him, hitting him on his shoulders and chest. "You have to ask me that, after all I've done for you?"

He fought back at her as she pushed him into the rocks and water, almost holding him under. He pushed her away until she fell back against the beach. "I don't want you near me."

* * *

Bonnie was being lulled by the waves and the sounds of bugs as she sat in the middle of the living room, already deep in meditation.

What do you want?

How to we start?

Keep him awake.

He doesn't get to sleep tonight.

Right.

He's a killer.

He deserves to burn!

"What are you doing on the floor?"

That voice was alive and made her open her eyes to see Alec sleepily peering down at her from the doorway of their bedroom. He rubbed at his eyes and asked again, "Are you sleeping sitting up like that? There's a perfectly good bed."

She gave him a small smile, a little embarrassed being caught, and whispered, "I know. I was meditating. Closing arguments tomorrow – making me angsty."

He nodded in understanding and held out his hand to pull her up. "We've done all we can do at this point. It'll be up to the jury."

Maybe not.

"Of course," she agreed with him aloud and followed him back into bed.

* * *

Bonnie still felt the weight of all the souls she'd been absorbing while meditating. She held tight to Beth's hand, and was happy to see the purple bags under Joe's eyes. She leaned her head down so her hair obscured her face and closed her eyes.

Dig in.

With pleasure.

"What do we know about the defendant?" Jocelyn began her closing speech. "We know he had a violent temper. We know he was in secret communication with Danny. We know he was secretly meeting Danny. We know the defendant has not been able to give us a satisfactory explanation as to why he had Danny's phone."

Joe felt his eye twitch as a strong chill swept into him, right to his soul. It was like a darkness that stuck to his skin and burrowed into his pores. It made his eye start to twitch.

She's right.

You're sick. Twisted. Murderer.

Do you realize what happens to you after you die?

"Or why he gave Danny £500 in cash," Jocelyn continued. "We know forensics have placed him at the murder scene. You've heard sworn evidence that Joe Miller was seen dumping clothes that night. You have not heard any alibi evidence to place him anywhere else other than at the murder scene."

You can't deny it.

You'll end up just like us.

We killed, raped, hurt.

And this is what we are now.

Nothing.

"And yet the one person we haven't heard from is the defendant himself."

You have no defense. You're guilty.

Guilty, guilty, GUILTY!

"It's a short walk from the dock to the witness box – I've counted it to be 13 steps," Jocelyn explained. "You may think that if you're falsely accused of a child's murder, you'd make that short walk. You may even think you'd run there to reassure the jury of your innocence. But when given the opportunity to give his own account and explanation of the evidence against him, when given a chance to protest his innocence, to shout it from the rooftops... he chooses to stay silent."

Bonnie couldn't help but smile when she saw Joe's whole face twitch.

"Instead, he allows his lawyers to speculate, to throw red herrings around to try and distract you from the truth."

Letting them fight your battles.

Attack these good people.

Look at what this has done to that family – to your family!

GUILTY!

"You may conclude that the reason for all these distortions, and the reason the defendant has not got into that witness box is because he knows, he knows he can't defend himself. He's preferred to hide behind the glass, to hide behind the fabricated stories his lawyers are fighting to convince you of."

Bonnie was disappointed that nothing had happened with Joe yet. They were running out of time.

"In a moment, you're going to hear from Ms. Bishop, who's going to make many ludicrous suggestions. It's up to you, members of the jury, how seriously you take these. But the Crown's case is that you can be sure of the defendant's guilt. You can be sure Joe Miller... murdered Daniel Latimer."

* * *

Alec caught a small drag in Bonnie's steps as she approached them while they were at recess. She seemed tired. But he expected that after catching her meditating in the middle of the night. When she embraced him and pressed her face into his chest, he reached his hand up to massage the back of her neck, feeling a knot at the top of her muscle.

"You should've eaten breakfast before coming today," he chided her lightly. "You're nearly dead on your feet."

She didn't want to comment on his word choice, tiredly laughing, "Ditto."

He hugged her, tucking his face into her hair, breathing her in. "Tell me that we'll win."

She kept her face down so he didn't see her expression of slipping hope. "We will."

* * *

"The Crown needs you to be sure. They've given you a version of events, but there's a compelling alternative version of what happened that night."

Bonnie was able to keep her hold on them around Joe with her eyes open. She wanted to stare him down – let him know that she was the one driving him mad in there. But she didn't want others to notice, so she kept her eyes trained on Bishop.

"It's not in any dispute that Danny's father, Mark, was 50 yards away from the murder scene. Let's stop and think about that. Mark Latimer had just engaged in illicit sex with a new-found mistress that had a profound effect on him. Because, according to his own evidence, he composed a letter to his wife telling her the marriage was over, that he had found his new soul-mate. He interpreted a fumble in a car as true love."

You're letting them drag Mark down for your crime!

Joe flinched at the words as if they were shouted in his head. "No," he whispered to himself.

Yes.

Soon you'll be with us.

You'll rot out there in the world and then you'll be just like us.

Faded away into oblivion.

Darkness.

Hell.

"Now let's remember that there was a window in the hut where Danny was, which had a direct view onto the carpark," Sharon continued.

Are you really going to let this go on?

Let her tear him down?

"Let's say that Danny saw his dad with his new mistress. Let's say that he ran from the hut and confronted his dad. As soon as his face popped up at that car window, Mark's dream, Mark's absurd schoolboy fantasy was in pieces. He was jolted back to the real world."

Joe muttered, "No, no, no..."

We know your heart.

We're in you now.

We know what you did.

What you are.

Sick.

You thought you were in love with that boy. Said you were.

But we know what you really wanted from him.

"I never asked-" Joe shuddered. "I never asked for that."

You wanted to. You know you did.

"Just picture it. Danny's gonna run to his mum, tell her everything. Mark has a tiny window of opportunity to stop him, to explain, to reassure and persuade him not to tell. Now let's imagine Danny tried to break free, ran back to the hut. Mark follows him. There's an altercation. And in the ensuing tragedy and confusion, Mark ends up killing Danny."

Mark sat back, incredulous.

"Can you be sure that didn't happen?"

Bonnie chanced a look at Joe and saw his lips moving, saw him starting to rock back and forth. She sat up straighter and tried to channel all of her strength. Finish him.

"You also heard evidence that Nigel Carter was seen dumping Danny's body that night. Can you be sure that Mark did not kill Danny and call his workmate and best friend to help him out of a crisis?"

You're coming with us when you die.

Into nothing, darkness, cold.

Joe shuddered violently when just a taste of the obscurity they were in descended into his soul. He felt like ice, like nothing, like he couldn't touch or feel. It was Hell.

"You may also feel that the police investigation was fundamentally flawed. Procedures compromised, personal liaisons got in the way of the truth."

You're letting them tear your family apart. Your boy. Tom. Bet you wanted him too. Wanted to touch him. Wanted to love him like you loved Danny.

You're coming with us.

You're going to die and you're going to be right here in Hell with us!

GUILTY!

"NOOOOO!"

The whole court broke out in shocked murmurs as Joe suddenly stood and shouted at the top of his lungs. Ellie had shielded Tom from seeing Joe looking like a mad man, but the boy could see over her shoulder quite easily. Beth immediately reached her hands out, squeezing Mark and Bonnie as Joe rambled and screamed.

"STOP, STOP, STOP! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" he shouted, clutching at his head. The Guards inside with him tried to restrain him as the Judge called for order.

"My Lady!" Sharon tried to protest. "The defense-"

The Judge pounded her gavel on her podium, "Order in the courtroom!"

But Joe fought the guards and screamed, "I DID IT! I killed him!" He sobbed, spit flying out of his mouth, "I loved him! It was real! It was real! But he wanted to stop! He was going to leave me!" the guards got hold of his arms and restrained him, and he went limp in their hold, completely crumpling. "I didn't mean to! I didn't want to kill him! I just wanted to love him!" He stared out, unseeing, hopeless, desolate. With a final sorrowful mutter, he said, "I just wanted him to love me."

The resounding silence swallowed the whole courtroom as the guards took Joe out of the room. Sharon and Abby were agape with shock, at a loss for words. Bonnie could almost feel her fingers cracking under Beth's grip, waiting for the end.

After the shock had worn off just a little, the Judge regarded Sharon and Jocelyn, "Well... this certainly has been a... unique case." She turned to the jury, "I believe you the jury are no longer required, as it seems that the defendant has changed his plea. Court will adjourn for today and sentencing of Mr. Miller will commence tomorrow."

"My Lady!" Sharon tried to protest.

"My ruling is final, Miss Bishop," the Judge concluded. "Accept it."

* * *

Beth needed the support of both Bonnie and Mark to walk out of the courtroom as she was frozen in shock and happiness. They quickly climbed down the stairs and sat her down on a bench. "Is it really over? Is he really going away?"

Mark laughed and knelt in front of her, "Yes, love, he is."

Ellie and Alec were loping down the stairs with Lucy and Tom. Alec caught Bonnie's eyes across the lobby and they shared a smile. When Beth noticed Ellie, she waved the woman over, suddenly letting go of all her anger, "Ellie!"

Ellie and Tom jogged faster than Alec and Lucy and met Beth and Mark and Bonnie with hugs and tearful kisses. All was well.

Bonnie had her eyes trained on Alec walking over. He felt relief as well as he approached her. He was still several feet away when he saw the whites of her eyes as they rolled back into her head and she suddenly collapsed, dropped without even attempting to break her own fall.

"Bonnie!" Alec shouted, starting to run for her.

Luckily, Jocelyn and her junior, Ben, had been approaching the group, and the young barrister had been close enough to catch Bonnie's shoulders before her head hit the ground. Alec pulled her up in his arms and laid her down on the bench with Beth as she and Ellie fussed over the unconscious woman.

"What happened?" Beth cried.

Ellie was fanning Bonnie's reddened face, "Has she been ill?"

"Stressed," Alec cursed. "Skipped breakfast."

"Mark, get some water," Beth ordered her husband, pulling Bonnie's head onto her lap. Mark rushed off to the cafe cart to do so. She called after him, "And a protein bar!"

"Right!" he called back, still rushing away.

Bonnie started groaning as Beth brushed her hair back and Alec called her name, "Bonnie, love, can you hear me?"

"Alec?" she moaned, slowly blinking awake.

"Oh, thank God," Ellie breathed as her eyes opened.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, seeing a sea of faces all around her.

"You're trying to give me heart problems again, that's what happened," Alec lightly joked as he sat with her and slowly guided her to sit up.

She groaned as she let her head loll onto his shoulder, "I'm sorry. I think it was the shock."

He could tell she was saying that for the others benefits. By the look he shared with Ellie, he could tell she knew there was more to it as well.

Beth rubbed her arm, "You nearly wiped out on the tile there. Thought we'd have to rush you to the hospital."

Mark then rushed back over with goodies in his arms, "All right, all right, I've got water, juice, a granola bar, and—and a cookie."

Bonnie and Beth both smiled at his effort, and Bonnie readily accepted the juice while Alec took the other treats off his hands with thanks.

Beth clasped her friend's arm and started giving her maternal orders, "Right, well, you're going to let Hardy take you home and get in bed and rest. Later, we're going to throw a huge party. It's finally over!"

"That sounds like fun," Bonnie smiled.

"What sounds like more fun is getting you to sleep," Alec said, handing the water and treat to Ellie and pulling Bonnie up to stand. He readily supported most of her weight as they said their farewells to the others and made their way back home. It was over, with Joe Miller at least.

* * *

Maggie and Jocelyn reclined on the picnic blanket with cheese and bread and wine, letting the grass caress their legs and the waves of the ocean provide background music to their conversation.

"I don't know what I've done to deserve this," Maggie said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Besides celebrating?" Jocelyn posited. "It's a thank you for pulling me back into the world."

Maggie gave her a coy smile, "Have I done that?"

Jocelyn smiled back, "You know you have." She then grew rather serious, taking a deep breath, "There's something else. Something I should have told you... long before now. There was a moment, must have been 15 years ago. I should have said it then, and I didn't. And I want to say it now." She had Maggie's undivided, breath-holding attention as she finally said, "It's always been you."

Maggie kept her reaction under her jacket. "What has?"

"You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?" Jocelyn laughed. "Fine. I'm in love with you, Maggie. Ever since you came here."

Maggie frowned, "What am I supposed to do with that now? Do you really think I didn't know?"

Now, Jocelyn frowned, "Well, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you never did!" Maggie answered, downtrodden. "I thought if you really feel that strongly, you'd be brave, you wouldn't care what people thought. But your work mattered more."

"I thought it did," Jocelyn admitted. "But I was wrong." For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other. "Say something."

"Jocelyn, you're grieving, you're feeling alone, that's why you're saying this," Maggie told her, referencing the recent death of Jocelyn's mother. She let out a mournful, reluctant sigh, "But it's over. The moment passed."

Jocelyn took in her face, "No. I don't think it has." Slowly, knowing now was the time to be brave, she cupped Maggie's face and brought her in for a slow, sweet kiss.

* * *

Claire was lumped over on a bench, hiding away from Lee and all her other problems, hood pulled over her head, when a voice asked, "Are you OK?"

She jolted up, squinting up at the reverend. "Mm-hm. Just... got into a bit of a scrap. You should see the other girl."

"Have you reported this to the police?" Paul asked her, completely unaware of who he was dealing with.

She let out an incredulous laugh. Like the police would help her now.

Paul frowned at her, confused, "What's so funny about that?"

Claire ignored the question. "I think I need a bit of sanctuary."

Paul understandingly held out his hand and helped her off the bench, walking her towards the Church, "I've got some antiseptic wipes – I can have a look at the eye for you."

"Thank you," she muttered, him mentioning it made the black eye throb. "It was my husband – he found out I'd had an abortion."

"Has he been violent with you before?" Paul asked, concerned – as was his nature.

"Not really," she hedged.

"Do you live locally?"

"Don't really live anywhere at the moment," she quipped.

"I can recommend a women's refuge for you. I can drive you there, if need be," he readily offered.

Claire objected, "No, it's not like that."

Paul gave her a look, "It looks very much like that."

"No, it's not. It really is not. It's more complicated," she tried to tell him. "And I'm... I'm all out of places to run, that's the problem. What am I supposed to do?"

Paul regarded her thoughtfully, "I was in trouble once. I was living rough. I'd sort of... hit rock bottom."

"What did you do?" Claire asked in a small voice.

"I stopped, turned around and faced the demons I'd been avoiding. There was no other way to go, so I fought back. 'When I am weak, then I am strong,'" he told her.

* * *

"Recurring suspects – what were they doing in the 12 hours before Lisa and Pippa went missing?" Alec treated his living room like the station as he and Ellie worked. He leaned against the table, peering into the bedroom, happy to see Bonnie still fast asleep. He believed she had something to do with Joe's outburst in court and that was somehow connected to her fainting spell.

"Uh... Right. Claire..." Ellie dragged a colored highlighter along a map of the neighborhood in Sandbrook, to track the trail they followed, "left work at four o'clock and she went to do Cate's hair... It's there. Oh... for the wedding party that night." She grabbed another color. "Ricky – he got home at 4:45, having spent the afternoon at a building site doing foundations."

Alec grabbed a purple pen and started tracking Lee's movements, "Lee finished a job that morning putting in flooring in a church hall then went to buy stock – we've got him on CCTV in the carpark, a receipt timed at 14:27, so that tallies. Claire and Cate remember hearing him working on his own floor when Claire was doing Cate's hair."

Ellie noticed a photo tacked to the wall of Claire, Lee, and Pippa in the living room amidst Lee's unfinished work. "When was that taken?"

"About a week before," he answered. "That leaves Gary Thorp, who says he spent all day and most of the evening at work – the place was on a 7-day, 24-hour activity during that period."

"The furnace was alight all weekend? Who else knew?" Ellie asked.

He returned to rest against the table and check in on Bonnie again before adding, "What bothers me is when I asked about Thorp Agri Services, he lied. He said maybe it was connected to Cate. He'd heard that name before, knew it was connected. How?"

"Gary Thorp is a credible suspect if he was stalking Lisa," Ellie said.

"How does Lee Ashworth know that?" he pointed out. "We only know cos Thorp told us. Ashworth would have no reason to know."

"Unless Lisa told him," Ellie thought out loud.

"Exactly," Alec said excitedly, feeling that they were gaining momentum. "Miller, there it is – that's the lie. That's the wee lie. He wanted me to think he'd heard about Thorp through Cate, but what if it was through Lisa?"

"If that's the case, Lee must have known her better that he's admitted," Ellie said.

He agreed, "Mustn't he!"

* * *

Alec waited patiently at the observation desk at the beach, knowing that Lee would take the bait when he texted him.

The lo and behold, Lee showed up, shoving his phone in Alec's calm face. "What did that text mean? I've got something wrong?"

"Thought you'd come round. Spoken to Claire yet?" he responded.

"What do you want?" Lee scowled.

"Did you ever sleep with Lisa Newbury?" Alec asked.

With a clenched jaw, Lee said, "No."

"Did you want to?"

"No."

"She turn you down?"

"No."

"What did Claire make of you and Lisa?" Alec asked.

"There was no 'me and Lisa'. I barely even spoke to her," Lee insisted.

"Right. Just slept with her?" Alec retorted. He stared Lee down, "What's it like to kill someone, Lee? What's it like to be in the room when the life goes out a person? How does it feel to be responsible for that?"

Lee glared at him, "I told you, I don't know."

"I think you do," Alec muttered. "I look at you and I see someone stained by death. I think it haunts you every single day. Just confess, Lee. I'm nearly there, anyway."

"I've got nothing else to say," Lee said.

"Between you and Claire, I think there's plenty still to say. I'm gonna make you say it," Alec challenged.

* * *

 **Well, what do you think of Joe's confession? We're closing in on the end now**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


	15. Chapter 15: The End

**Sorry it's been so long! My computer still isn't finished at the repair place (it's been a nightmare) and I've been out of town visiting family. Hopped on my mom's computer to give you all the ending to Sandbrook! Hope you like it! Stay tuned for the third Broadchurch installment, but it'll be a bit longer since I am writing out most of the three years between this series and the next.**

* * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE END

Bonnie woke up to Alec's voice cooing over her, "Bonnie, are you feeling better? Can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes to see him leaning over her, softly brushing his fingers through her hair around her face. He tenderly smiled when he saw she was awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Better?" she stated with some quizzical nature to her voice. "I wore myself out, huh? Usually that's your job."

He quirked his lip at her joke. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Joe Miller's sudden overwhelming declaration of guilt in court today, would it?"

She averted her eyes, "Doesn't matter now that it's over with."

"Almost over with," he said. "The Judge moved up sentencing up to today. We have to go back to court and await her decision."

"Is it wrong to hope for the worst for him?" she asked.

"No, it bloody well isn't," he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

* * *

When Alec and Bonnie arrived at court, she noticed Beth and Ellie outside on the balcony talking and laughing together. It made her smile to see as she and Alec sat down on a bench, holding tightly to each other's hands and hoping the Judge didn't dare go easy on Joe Miller.

* * *

It was nice for Beth to let go of her anger and talk with Ellie like old times. "I keep thinking about that last Sunday we were all together. Before you went to Florida. You came to ours for a barbecue and the boys all went out playing football till it got dark. Way after it got dark."

"Tom came into your kitchen to get torches, so they could keep playing," Ellie remembered with a fond smile.

Beth laughed, "I can still see them all now. I shut my eyes – the sun's setting, I can see them all playing. Danny, Mark, Tom... and Nige and..." she trailed off then.

"Joe," Ellie said, tears welling in her eyes. "Even the memories are spoiled."

After a small pause, Beth tried to focus on the fond parts of the memories, "There's this moment where Dan spotted me looking out. And he ran over in his yellow shirt. He ran to the window, all pink and sweaty from running round. He pulled a face at the window, it made me laugh. I pulled one back. My little boy pulling faces at me." Her smile slowly fell and looked at Ellie, "I'm thinking of leaving Mark. It's not working. Even when this is over, it won't fix us. We're not the same people anymore."

Ellie nodded with understanding, a few tears leaking out of her eyes, "Be careful, though, Beth. You think you're alone in that marriage, you're not. It's nothing compared to being really alone."

* * *

Bonnie was surprised as they waited to see her Uncle Jay making his way inside. She stood up and accepted his big hug, "What are you doing here?"

He gestured to Alec, "This one called me and said you passed out."

She rolled her eyes and gave Alec a look. He gave her an innocent one back and shrugged. She turned back to her Uncle, "Fainted. Not passed out. I was back awake within ten seconds."

"Still," Jay insisted, casting a look around, "Thought I'd check in. It's a stressful day, you know?"

Bonnie playfully narrowed her eyes at him, "Checking in with me or with Ellie?"

She laughed at his blush.

* * *

Claire slumped against the small boat hut she'd been squatting in. While Lee reclined against the one next to her. She didn't look at him as she asked, "It's over, isn't it, between us?"

"I think it might be," he said.

"How does it work, though, us without each other?" she looked over at him. "Do you trust me to keep your secrets?"

"As much as you trust me to keep yours," he decided.

She looked away. She didn't trust him at all. "What will you do?"

He sighed, "Go back to France, I suppose."

"What's so great about France?" she spat.

"Nobody knows me. Almost nobody," he answered.

She stared at him, "You shouldn't have hit me."

He tried to make light of the situation by saying, "You're lucky I stopped there."

"What did you say?" she hissed at him.

"It's a joke," he tried to excuse his remark.

She stared at him like she was just seeing him, all her hatred and resentment bubbling up, "Thank God you never became a father."

He scowled at her, not knowing who she was anymore. She scrambled up and grabbed her backpack, starting to march away from him. He asked after her, "Where will you go?"

"You're so stupid."

* * *

Jay, Alec, and Bonnie were getting along in the court lobby, but their peaceful conversation was interrupted when Claire marched into the courthouse. Like a woman on a mission. Ellie must have noticed from the balcony because she was following after the woman as she approached Alec, digging a hand into her backpack.

Alec asked her, "What are you doing here?"

"You want the bloody pendant?" she asked him back, pulling a plastic bag with the pendent inside and smacking it into her chest. "Have it!"

"No," he stared at it in disbelief. He held it up to her and yelled at her, "You took this?! You had this all along?!"

Ben suddenly called out to the group, "The Judge is ready!"

Claire tried to use the distraction to slink away but Alec grabbed her arm, "No, no, no," pulling her along with the group as they started entering the courtroom. "You're not leaving my sight. Come on!"

As he dragged her on, with the others following behind, she looked back and locked in on Bonnie. "You must be the girlfriend! Did he tell you we shagged? Did he?"

Bonnie – blissfully to Alec's relief – just scoffed at her claims. But he still tightened his grip on her as they walked up the stairs to the courtroom. "That's enough out of you. Not another word until we're done here."

They piled into the courtroom and Bonnie stuck to Alec's side this time, no matter what the clerk said, as he dragged Claire to sit on his other side.

"Will the defendant please stand?" the clerk said.

Joe Miller stood on shaky legs, madly muttering to himself, looking completely crazy.

Bonnie held Alec's hand in hers, not really listening to the Judge speaking. She just caught bits of what the woman in the wig was saying. "Joe Miller... especially heinous crime... not only that but putting the Latimer family through the indecency of a trial... knowing your guilt... and then your outburst... no choice other than to sentence you to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Court is adjourned."

With the bang of her gavel, Bonnie came back to life. She was completely relieved. It was over.

Alec dragged Claire to her feet as they stood and started exiting the courtroom, hissing at her, "Claire Ripley, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Pippa Gillespie and Lisa Newbery. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?" After she nodded, he led her roughly out into the lobby. "Right. Go."

Bonnie and Jay followed behind at a short distance as Alec flagged down a PC, "Err, come with me. Come on," and walked down the stairs with Claire to meet with Tess and her own PCs. "I arrested this woman at 2:32 PM. She's aware she's under caution. Take her to the nick for me."

Tess nodded, "I rang the custody suite. They know she's coming in. I'll sit with you."

"No, no. I need Miller," he denied.

Tess frowned but masked it, "Yeah. Course you do."

He pulled out the pendent and handed it to Tess, "Claire just handed me this pendant. You two should have plenty to talk about."

After that, he walked on, and Bonnie decided to follow him, and Jay followed her. They found Ellie outside on the balcony alone.

"All right, Ellie?" Jay asked.

Ellie turned quickly, not expecting them. She wiped at her eyes and sighed, "Can't believe it's over."

Jay clasped a hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly, "It is over. But it's still your husband. You let me know if you need anything. I'll be sticking around for a while now."

Bonnie liked the sight of them getting close, but Alec just had to but in with the Sandbrook case.

"Miller, I still need your anger," he cut in. "I want you to stoke it! I want it to burn hard in you. I need someone as angry as me right now, cos we're gonna close the case on Claire and Lee Ashworth today!"

"What do you mean, now?" she asked him loudly.

"We can make sure another killer goes down. The pendant is the lever to get them to confess. We'll go in hard, let's go!"

"Not before giving me a celebratory kiss," Bonnie teased as Alec started pulling Ellie away.

He stopped and grabbed her face, kissing her fiercely, and even dipping her a bit. It made her smile into the kiss and at the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. When he stood her up and pulled away, he said, "I'll be home soon as I can be. With two more arrests under my belt."

"Go get them!" she encouraged as they ran off to do their job.

* * *

"Yeah?"

Alec would enjoy dangling the bait for Lee. Keeping his voice professional, he said, "Claire's in custody. We believe she has evidence relating to Lisa and Pippa's deaths."

"What evidence?" Lee asked.

"I can't talk. I'm just heading over there now. Um, she turned down a solicitor. She came to me, said she wanted us to know the truth now. You haven't had a falling out, have you?" He took joy in the silence on the other end. "Just do me a favor. Don't leave the area. I'm sure I'll want to talk to you very soon."

* * *

Ellie felt like she was walking through a ghost when she entered the same interview room where Alec had told her that her husband was a child murderer. Alec walking in behind her startled her out of the memories as he started setting up the tapes. "Time to stop playing games. Tell me how you came to have Pippa Gillespie's pendant, Claire."

"Have you arrested Lee yet?" Claire demanded.

Alec scoffed quietly, "Is that what this is about? You brought us the pendant as a way of sending a message to Lee?"

She glared at him, "Why did you tell my husband I was pregnant, or that I'd had an abortion, when I told you in confidence? That's a breach of trust."

"You wanna talk about trust?" he poised for her. "How the Gillespies used to trust you to take their daughter to school? What did you do on those journeys? You start grooming her for Lee?"

She hissed at him, "Why did you force me to have sex with you, Alec?"

"We have never had sex, Claire," he calmly responded without missing a beat. He was getting bored with the games. Or rather angry.

"Why have you been holding me against my will?" she asked, spinning her fake story.

"Is there any truth to this?" Ellie asked, looking between them.

"Of course, there bloody isn't!" he dispelled. He glared at Claire, "You asked me to help you because you were worried your husband would come after you."

"You hurt me _physically_ , Alec!" she accused. "You were sad because your wife had another man's cock in her mouth, but you shouldn't have forced me to have sex with you!"

Ellie reached for the tape recorder to stop it, "Stop the interview."

"Don't touch that," Alec stopped her.

"I have to take these allegations-"

"Sit down, Miller!" he shouted. He stared at Claire, eyebrow perched up, he would play her game for now, "You wanna keep going with these allegations? Fill your boots! We'll stop now. You can report those offenses. I'll be arrested. You want that? We can do that. Say the word." She stared back and said nothing. "That's not why you're here, is it? You're here because of Lee." He started spinning a tale of his own, only his had more of a chance of being true, "So, what are you thinking? We bring Lee in. He gets a fright, seeing that. And then, instead of betraying you... you're banking on him realizing that he needs to stay close to you because of what you know."

Claire's face suddenly broke into a wide smile as she leaned back in her chair, laughing like she'd been gassed, "I don't know anything! I don't!"

"You know what happened to Lisa Newbery and Pippa Gillespie," he said.

Her face went blank. "You're wrong."

"I don't think I am, not when I look in your eyes," he slowly told her.

She leaned forward, snarling, "I'm not scared of you, Alec."

"Yeah, well, you should be," he hissed dangerously back.

They were staring each other down when Ellie saw fit to step in, "Why have you got Ricky Gillespie's office number in your mobile?"

Claire turned her glare on her, "Oh, you're piping up now, are you? Had a little peek at my phone? Thank you for that, mate!"

"Why would you be calling Pippa's dad?" Ellie ignored her sniping. Claire remained silent. Ellie sighed, "Did Ricky send you the bluebell?" She saw something change in Claire's face and jumped on it, "Oh, he did! Why has Ricky got a picture of bluebells on his office wall?"

"Has he?" Claire feigned nonchalance.

"What happened that night, Claire?" Ellie asked.

"Dunno."

* * *

Ellie sat on the stoop outside the station next to Alec digging through files. Something was itching at the back of her head. Like something was staring her in the face but she couldn't see it. She couldn't quite pin point it.

"I'm gonna break her in there." Alec declared.

"Listen to yourself. You're too wound up!" Ellie chided him.

"Me?!" he looked at her. "You haven't met yourself! I will do whatever it takes to get those two in prison."

Ellie just went back to flipping through the file on her lap while his mobile rang. He told her, "Stop fiddling," as he answered it.

"Something is bugging me," she told him.

He would have griped at her some more, but then his phone rang. He quickly answered it seeing the contact of the one of the PCs he'd put on Lee. "What?... Oh, perfect. Stay there. Okay," he hung up and started getting up.

"I need someone to go to Lee and Claire's and get a photograph," Ellie said.

"Talk to Tess," he told her. "I've got to do something." He ran off, nearly spilling his tea on her as he set it down in her lap. She glared after him, just getting used to his ways.

* * *

Bonnie opened the gate to let herself and Jay in but stopped when she noticed someone standing outside the sky-blue house. It was Lisa, looking anxious. She must know that Alec and Ellie were starting to close in on the end of her case. Bonnie gave her a kind smile, "Hello Lisa."

Jay quirked a brow at his niece's back, "Another visitor?"

"Lisa Newbury," Bonnie explained shortly. "From Alec's Sandbrook case."

"Ah," Jay nodded with realization and let himself into the house to make them some well-deserved cups of tea.

Bonnie took Lisa's hand, "We're close to the end now. You'll get to be with Pippa soon."

She could feel Lisa's relief.

* * *

Alec felt like a predator closing in on his prey as he walked in with the PC he had on Lee's tail, into Claire's house to witness the man tearing the place apart. Muttering, "Come on! Where is it?"

"Where's what, Lee?" Alec said to announced himself. The man whipped around to stare, shocked to see them. "Before I called you, I had someone following you. I'm arresting you in connection with the murders of Pippa Gillespie and Lisa Newbery."

* * *

"This what you after?" Tess asked, approaching Alec and Ellie outside the second interview room with a photo.

"Wow, that was quick!" Ellie commented, taking the photo.

"I'm really good," Tess grinned.

"Yes! Look. See, there it is," Ellie pointed to what she had been noticing but not putting together until now. "That and that, which also makes sense of these two receipts."

"Oh, Miller, that is outstanding!" Alec commented, quickly pulling Ellie into the room with Lee and his solicitor.

Ellie started this interview herself, laying out a pay stub for him to look at, "So, I found this at the bottom of the old case files. What's it for?"

"A stub for a job I was doing the following Monday. Oak boards," Lee answered calmly.

"So, you bought this Saturday morning, the exact amount, everything you needed?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah. And then I done the job on Monday," Lee said.

"Yeah, I know. I checked. So, why did you go back to the same supply yard first thing Monday and buy the exact same stuff again?" Ellie questioned him.

Lee's face dropped into confusion, "What?"

"A second, identical purchase. Nobody thought to query it. Obviously, I'm a bit fussier," Ellie smirked. "What happened to the stuff you bought on Saturday? Why did you have to buy it again?"

"I didn't get enough," Lee tried to explain.

Ellie took out the photo she'd noticed on Alec's wall earlier, of him with Claire and Pippa working on his own floors. "This was taken a week before, as you were installing your own floor. Those boards are not the same boards that are on that floor now. Those are dark-oak floorboards. What's down there now is light oak. Same light-oak boards you bought Saturday morning, and again Monday. What did you use those boards for, Lee, between Saturday and Monday?"

"What happened on the floor, Lee?" Alec added.

"Nothing," he tried to deny.

"No. Something did," Alec leaned forward. "What were you looking for at the cottage, Lee? Is this what you were looking for?" He pulled out the bag with the pendent and set it on the table for Lee to see.

"For the tape, DI Hardy is showing Mr. Ashworth a clear plastic evidence bag, AH1, containing a pendant," Ellie stated.

"Where'd you get it from?" Lee asked.

"From your wife."

All the life drained from Lee's face. "What?"

"This is the evidence that proves Pippa Gillespie was in your car the night she died. This is the missing evidence that nearly killed me... and now I've got it," Alec gloated. He then stated his theory, "You know what I think this was? Her insurance policy. She didn't trust you... just like you never should've trusted her. She has stitched you up. And she never told you about the baby." Seeing the sorrow floating in Lee's eyes, he started stacking on, "When you're in love, you think you're gonna be interlocked forever. Love's all-encompassing when you're in it, but... really, you can't trust anyone. Not even the people you love. Ultimately... we're all alone."

Ellie gave the side of Alec's face a look, wondering if he meant that last bit. But she told herself he was just saying it for Lee's benefit. Alec had Bonnie, obviously loved her. And she loved him. It was an unbreakable bond. Whatever Lee and Claire thought they had was a sick interpretation of love.

"You more than anyone right now," Alec was going on and on for Lee. "So, set the record straight, and we can all get released from this. Come on. You must be so tired of lying! No-one's coming to your rescue. This is it. Last chance. Did you kill Lisa Newbery?"

* * *

Lee remembered standing with her, fighting the urge to steal glances at her as they watched the boy she'd been trying to avoid lurking outside the house.

"Why won't he leave me alone?" she had asked him. He had asked her where Pippa was. "Asleep. I should probably get back to her."

"No. Go get her. Bring her over. You can both stay here till he's gone," he had offered. She had looked so grateful and touched when he had. Like she was looking at him like a strong protector.

It had given him some extra oomph in his step as he confronted the pathetic little man outside. Punched him for good measure.

"You hit him!" Lisa had exclaimed in surprise when he walked back in the door.

He had just brushed it off, "Yeah, well, it's quicker than talking. He did get a bit of a nosebleed, though, poor sod."

She had stood in front of him at the bottom of the stairs, "Well, you got blood on your shirt." She had reached up and touched the spot at the top of his chest. He felt how close she was. How warm. He asked again where Pippa was then. "She's asleep in your bed. She barely woke up," she had said as she started undoing the first top buttons of his shirt.

* * *

"You had sex with Lisa Newbery that night?" Hardy asked Lee. "All this time you've been denying it. Then what? You killed her?"

It was all becoming too much for him.

"No. Claire," Alec realized.

That made Lee laugh, "You don't have a clue!" He recalled how absolutely angry Ricky had been when he caught them. He only had a fleeting second to enjoy the surprise on Hardy's face.

"Ricky came home from the wedding?"

* * *

"Get your clothes on!" Ricky had shouted as he forced his way into the house, looking like a storm.

Lee had immediately climbed off of Lisa and begged Ricky to calm down, not even having enough energy or time to cloth himself completely.

Ricky had been yelling about, "Where's Pippa?"

"She's upstairs!" Lisa had told him as she composed herself, pulling her nightgown back down over her legs.

Ricky had wagged his finger in her face, red in the face with burning rage, "I trusted you with her!"

"Lee was helping me."

"Don't give me that! I've been out there the last 15 minutes," he had spat at her, his spit almost hitting the floor.

Lee had tried to interject. He had really tried desperately to get them all to calm down, so they could talk it all out.

"Watching us?" Lisa had been so disgusted. "You bastard!"

Lee knew that had been her fatal mistake when Ricky turned on her. "What you call me?"

"You're pissed. Calm down." Lee could tell Ricky was completely wasted. And he still tried to get him to just calm down. But it was to no avail. Because Lisa just kept winding him up.

"I've seen you looking. You're pissed off that I fucked him, not you!"

That had been the final straw for Ricky. And in his rage, he reached out to punch her right in the face. She spun almost all the way around before falling to the ground.

"Agh!"

"Is that how you talk to me?" Ricky had shouted as he got on top of her. Lee thought for a moment that he would try to rape her. He had gotten up ready to stop it. He had tried.

"Stop it!"

"No! Get off me!" she had tried to fight him off.

But he was belligerently pissed, grabbing her head and smacking it into the floor. "Call me a bastard again!" He had only pounded her head against the wood twice before a thumping crack sounded. He saw her face go slack and blank. Eyes staring up unseeing. He had known she was dead immediately.

* * *

It all clicked. At least with Lisa. It all made sense then. Why Lisa was hanging around for Bonnie to see her. How Bonnie had hurt her head channeling Lisa. It hadn't been a wall her head was smashed into, it had been the floor.

"Where was Claire?" Alec demanded.

* * *

"This little box contains Lee's taped evidence," Alec held out the white tape as he and Ellie sat across from the stoic Claire.

"You are lying, Claire. You've changed your story a dozen times, and blamed everyone but yourself," Ellie accused her. "Now it's time to tell the truth. Lee's told us Ricky killed Lisa, but what happened to Pippa?"

* * *

Claire recalled her part of the night with a cold detachment. Or at least she had tried. She remembered how excited she had been to see Lee when she came home that night to surprise him. She was pregnant! They were going to start their own family. Nothing could have ruined her mood then.

But she had been confused to see Pippa sobbing on the stairs. "What you doing here, sweetheart? What's wrong?"

"I think there's been an accident," Pippa cried.

"What do you mean?"

Ricky had shown up and gotten in between her and Pippa then, telling his daughter that she should be in bed. Claire hadn't understood what was going on. But Pippa was inconsolable.

"Is Lisa all right?"

Ricky had told her, "No, she's not. She's, err... I'm afraid Lee's really hurt her."

"What?" Claire had not been able to let those words sink in. "What?!" She had stormed off to the back room and pushed the door open, gasping loudly when she saw the scene. Lisa was laying splayed out on the floor in her nightgown, blood pooling and spreading across the floorboards from the back of her head. "You didn't..."

Lee had been dressed by then, sobbing and shaking, shifting from foot to foot.

She had fallen to her knees at Lisa's feet, just staring numbly. She had barely heard Ricky speaking to her, "Claire, I need you to go to Pippa and sit with her. I've told her you'll bring her medicine to calm her down," or felt the chill of the flask he pressed into her. "Here. Claire!" She had numbly accepted it into her hand. "Give her some of that. It'll help her sleep. I'll deal with her in the morning."

"Claire's not part of this," Lee had hissed at Ricky.

Ricky held no remorse as he argued with him, "Shut up. You're all over her body. You're inside her. Her blood's on your floor. I'll get the van. You clean up in here. You go to the police, and I'll put it all on you."

After Ricky had left, Lee had started in crying to her, "Claire, you can't give her that. You can't give Pippa that. When he goes out to bars, he puts Rohypnol in there. We've got to go to the police."

"Did you have sex with her?" she had asked him, feeling every part of her break and get glued back together with ice. "Did you have sex with her, Lee?" His silence had been enough of an answer for her as she reached up and slapped him with all her might. "What have you done?!"

Claire had known what she had to do as she watched Ricky and Lee roll Lisa into a plastic tarp and load her into Ricky's van. His part of the plan was to take her body and dump it somewhere. She didn't know where. Ricky was out for himself. She had to take care of them.

She had climbed into her bed with a crying Pippa and comforted the girl. She had asked her how long she'd been on the stairs. What she heard.

Pippa couldn't stop crying. "I heard Lisa and Lee."

"Mm-hm?"

"They were having sex. Then I heard the fight."

It had been exactly what Claire feared, "Okay. Thank you for telling me the truth, sweetheart."

"Lee hurt Lisa, and Dad said..." Pippa had sobbed.

"It's all right. It's all right," Claire had shushed her. "Thank you for being honest. You've done really well." She had held the girl to her. She had loved this girl dearly. She had cared for this girl, like her own family. But Lee was her real family. He was her husband. He couldn't go down for Ricky's crime. It had all broken her heart. "Now, I don't want you to worry. You just need to rest. Your dad has left you something. Err, some medicine, just... calm you down, help you sleep." She had reached for the flask, knowing what was inside it, and handed it to Pippa to start drinking. "We'll get all this sorted out. I want you to take a big gulp of that. A big gulp of that." Pippa had tried to stop drinking it, grimacing at the liquid, but Claire pushed her. "That's a good girl. Well done."

"I don't like it," Pippa had whined.

Claire had agreed with her, and then got out of the bed to tuck the little girl in. "Snuggle down, now. Come on. Snuggle down. Snug as a bug. I'm just downstairs."

"I'm worried about Lisa."

Claire had stopped in the doorway and looked back at her, looking into her sad eyes and lying, "Everything's gonna be all right."

She had left Pippa to cry herself to sleep and slowly climbed downstairs, catching Lee kneeling on the blood-stained ground, staring at where Lisa had laid.

"We've got to clear this mess up," she had told him, kneeling next to him and staring into the side of his face. He wouldn't stop crying and staring at the floor. "Pippa heard you having sex. She thinks you killed Lisa."

He slowly quieted, understanding the gravity of the situation, "Did you give her that stuff from the flask?"

"She'll be asleep now."

Once Lee did his part, she had coldly given him the next job. Rip out the bloodstained floorboards and take them to Thorp's place to burn them. And get rid of Pippa's body. She had waited outside to flag Ricky down when his van pulled up and jumped in, giving him loud directions to where she knew Lee had laid Pippa to rest.

She had told him to be quiet as he demanded to know why she had him drive out to the bluebell fields by the water.

"What are we doing? Where's Pippa? Tell me where she is, now!"

She had backed away from him, keeping her distance, "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!"

He had only wanted to know, "Where is Pippa?"

"You need to stay calm, right? I gave her some stuff from your flask, like you said." She had emphasized that part. That it had been his choice to make her drink the date rape drug.

It had seemed just then that that choice was finally dawning on Ricky. "Right."

"What was in there? That wasn't just whiskey, was it?" She had been good at feigning ignorance even then.

"What happened?"

She had made sure to keep her distance, having seen what he'd done to Lisa. "She had a reaction. She couldn't breathe. She was choking, and it was... It was just so, so fast."

"What are you telling me?"

"We couldn't call an ambulance Ricky, not with what you've done... to Lisa, with blood all over the floor! We...couldn't save her. She's gone."

He hadn't wanted to accept it. "No. No!"

"I'm so sorry."

"No. You don't say that!" He had advanced on her then. He had a hold on her jacket.

She had to speak quickly. "Lee said he knows somewhere peaceful, somewhere you used to go, where she won't be found for a while. That's why we're here. You can go and look. I'll wait here. I'll wait here."

She had found him just collapsed in the field in grief after he had seen and cradled his little girl's body in the water.

"Ricky! Gimme the keys," she had commanded. She would drive them back. But before they left, she had to make everything clear. "Listen. I've got to tell you this. I've buried your hip flask in the woods here. I know exactly where, but nobody else will be able to find it. If you feel like you wanna talk to the police, or you blame us, remember, I know where your hip flask is that contains traces that killed Pippa. It's just a precaution. That's all. Nothing else."

"You've thought it all through, haven't you?"

"I've got to think of the future."

Recalling every sordid detail to them had drained the cold life out Claire. Left her huddled in the corner of the interview room, tears down her face, as Alec and Ellie stood in front of her.

"I only came home that night to tell him I was pregnant."

* * *

Ricky had played cool as they brought him in next. Alec felt particularly offended by his involvement. They were both fathers. But so was Joe Miller. You never really knew a person.

"We've got a pretty clear picture of the events of that night. But we wanna hear it from you," Alec told him.

"We know you killed Lisa. But where did you bury her body?" Ellie asked.

A smirk played on his lips, like he believed was going to get away with it, but there was also moisture in his eyes. "No comment."

"No, no, no, no. Don't do that," Alec admonished him. "Cate broke your alibi weeks ago. There were hours when she didn't see you at the wedding. She assumed you were off sleeping with a bridesmaid, Tiffany Evans. But Tiffany said otherwise."

"And I did a lot of checking with every cab company in your area. Unfortunately for you, the cab company that took you home have got a computerized system. They keep really good records. Your journey details, times, all paid up," Ellie revealed. He wasn't getting away with anything.

Still it was, "No comment."

"Seriously?" Alec felt like throttling the man across from him. "My daughter was the same age as Pippa when this happened. My heart went out to you. I knew how you felt. I couldn't let _you_ down. That's what I always thought. Two years, never letting go! I nearly killed myself over this, and you're gonna "no comment" me?!" He saw Ricky's face getting dragged down with the weight of the whole situation. "So, is there anything else you want to say to us?"

"I got my punishment that night," Ricky told them as he remembered sobbing over Pippa, how she was already soaked through her clothes, and got him all wet as he held her and tried to breathe warmth back into her ice-cold hands.

"What did you do with Lisa's body?" Ellie asked.

"Lee was working at a church. There was a funeral the day before. So... best place to hide a body. A grave." It was over. It was done.

* * *

Jay had gone home for the night. Bonnie had ended up nodding off on the couch. Well, almost. At a moment during the night, Lisa suddenly cuddled into her, hugging her tight. It felt warm. It felt like a thank you.

A little startled, but not afraid, Bonnie smiled and hugged her back, "I'm guessing you're almost done here. I hope you feel some relief knowing the truth. Even if it's hard."

She felt Lisa nod into her shoulder, hugging her tighter.

* * *

After Tess' people had taken all three of the murderers away, Alec found himself sitting alone with a pile of files in the silent interview room. He opened the top file that had Lisa's picture in it. Then he pulled out the wallet photo of Pippa he carried around with him and laid it next to her. With a solemn finality, he closed the folder – closed the case.

It was overwhelming. Finally, being done with it all. Two years of his life was finally over, and he could finally put the people responsible for so much grief away.

But it was all still there. Pippa and Lisa were still dead. Cate would be absolutely gutted when she learned of Ricky's part in it all. She would probably be worse off than she was already. And his marriage still fell apart, he still almost died of stress.

It made him slowly lose his hold on his emotions, laying his head in his head and letting out echoing sobs. It was harrowing, but cathartic.

* * *

"Did you not find any traces of Rohypnol in Pippa's body?" Ellie asked as they sat outside the station by the sidewalk. She felt like a ghost had left her body with everything over. The trial. Sandbrook. All of it.

"Passes through the system in 24 hours," he said. "We didn't find her for a few days. And besides, they watered it down."

Ellie peaked her head down to catch his eye, "You did it. You got them."

"Done my penance," he said. "I just keep thinking of all the damage done... all those lives."

Ellie's phone dinged, and she quickly checked it, "That's Beth. I've got to get the boys. Do you mind if I..."

"No, go. Well done," he waved her off. "Go on."

Ellie stood to leave but paused, "I think you're wrong, by the way. You're wrong, what you said to Lee in there. We're not all alone."

He looked up at her, "I know that now. I said that for him."

"Thought so," Ellie murmured, her eyes going over his shoulder.

He turned around to see Bonnie walking towards them in a light and airy white dress and a smile. Neither of the detectives saw Lisa walking with her. Ellie waved as she was headed the other way, leaving Hardy to wait and smile and accept her hug when she reached him. She hugged around his neck, holding him to her chest as she kissed the top of his head.

"How is my grouchy man feeling?" she asked softly. "It's nearly over."

"Nearly?" he asked, rearing his head.

Bonnie led him with her eyes to the space where Lisa was standing. "Lisa needs to say her goodbyes before she goes. Your turn now, I think."

Alec followed her eye-line to an empty spot of air. He let out a sigh, "I... truly hope you find peace. Wherever you go."

Bonnie watched as Lisa gave Alec a warm smile and leaned over to lay a kiss on his forehead. When she saw the way his eyes closed, she knew somehow, he had felt it. Lisa stood straight and gave her a grateful smile then, waving her hand as her form slowly faded away. She moved on.

"Now it's over," she whispered, hugging Alec's head again and standing between his legs. "How do you feel now?"

"I think I'm supposed to feel relief," he said.

"I think you're supposed to be grieving," she countered, running her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp absentmindedly.

He mindlessly played with the hem of her light dress with his fingers, "This is a nice dress."

She accepted his distraction of change of subject, smiling, "You like it? I was thinking of wearing something like it for the wedding. I'm not really that formal."

"Sounds good to me," he breathed.

She cupped his face, "Let's get you home. Into bed."

He groaned, "I don't think I could sleep now."

She smirked, "Who said anything about sleeping?"

* * *

Mark bounced little Lizzie in his arms as the Latimer family stood on the beach, on the same spot Danny was found.

Chloe laid a small bouquet of flowers down on the sand. "I miss him so much."

"Me too," Beth said, crouched down next to her.

"We haven't shown you this place, have we?" Mark asked Lizzie in his arms as she cooed. "We can't never come here. We can't... miss out. Not on somewhere this beautiful. We lost your brother here, darlin'. He would've loved you. Would've loved having a little sister to boss around. I have to reclaim it for you now, Lizzie. And for us. Keep our love as strong as steel. That's the way we win." He gazed at Beth as he said this.

"Yeah," she smiled at him, hooking her fingers in his belt loop. She caught sight of the Millers making their way over and smiled, "Hey! You're late!"

"Yeah, but we've got crisps!" Ellie announced, holding up the shopping bag.

The two families met up on the sand, exchanging hugs and kisses. Freddy loved seeing the Latimers again and peering at little Lizzie in Mark's arms. Ellie officially met the new baby for the first time. They dug into the crisps, talked, loved, laughed. They would find a way to carve out a new life in Broadchurch passed their trauma. They would live.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alec was inside of Bonnie, panting and moaning. He moved with a new energy, with a new lease on life, listening to her squeaking moans that only egged him on. He hitched her legs higher on his hips and dove into her, feeling her heels start to dig into his backside.

She dug her fingers into the skin of his back as she craned her head up to smash her lips to his. There was a spiritual connection and warmth to them. There was a finality and new beginning now. He was gripping the flesh of her thigh, cupping her neck, kissing her – all so fiercely.

And neither could deny the divine pleasure they felt moving with each other, him diving inside of her and she receiving him inside of her. It built and built to a peak that made both of them cry out. He moved some more within her until finally collapsing next to her on the bed.

Panting, she turned over to lay on his chest, a tired but satisfied smile on her face, "So much for thinking you're not energetic enough!"

He let out a slight wheeze as he laughed, "I've got a new heart now. I'm a new man, with new energy. We can have a new life now."

She smiled at him, "New life, huh? That sounds pretty amazing. I talked to Daisy about her visiting either this weekend or the next. She's excited to see you for herself post-operation."

"Aye, we'll have to clean this place up then," he remarked.

She arched an eyebrow at him, "We? You mean you and Miller?"

He smiled innocently, "Of course."

She shifted closer to him, "You want to stay here right?"

He asked her, "Why do you ask?"

She averted her eyes to his chest, "Well, I thought you stayed originally... for me. But you'd been keeping Claire under watch here. Now... Danny's case is over, Joe's trail is over, Sandbrook is even over. You're unattached to Broadchurch by work. And I don't want to make you stay in a place you truly hate."

"Hey," he used a finger to guide her chin up, so he could look into her eyes. "I'm your grouchy man. I'll find anything to complain about anywhere."

She let out a laugh at that. He had a point.

"I wasn't only here to keep Claire under watch," he told her. "I was here for you too. I love you. We're getting married. We're building a life. And this is your home. It can be our home too."

She felt herself getting a little choked up at his testament, suddenly throwing herself onto him and kissing him with all her feelings and love for him. "I love you too, Alec. I cannot wait for the rest of our life."

* * *

 **And that's the end of Sandbrook people! Thank you for reading! I am writing the third series but it's going to take longer when I don't have my own computer for the moment and I'm writing up a bit of the three years in between stories. But stay tuned, and let me know what you think of how I wrote up the ending and concluded things.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **RegalGirl94**


End file.
